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CHICAGO 


DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS- 


— OR    THE — 


PROGRESS  OF  FORTY  YEARS. 


BEING  A  RECORD  OF  THE  IMPORTANT  EVENTS  IN  THE  HISTORY  OF  CHICAGO,. 
AND  A  DESCRIPTION  OF 


Its  Industries,  Professions  and  Societies, 


— TOGETHER    WITH — 


Biographical  Sketches  of  Prominent  Citizens. 


— EDITED    BY — 

'W.A.IRID  "WOOID, 

Associate  Editor  "The  Western  Rural." 


CHICAGO: 
MILTON  GEORGE  &  COMPANY. 

1881. 


p- 


PREFACE. 


The  design  of  this  book  is  to  present  as  fully  as  possible  in  a  volume  of 
rhis  size — which  is  as  large  as  a  regard  for  convenience  will  admit — a 
history  of  the  rise  and  progress  of  Chicago,  and  embracing,  as  an  intimate 
part  of  that  history,  special  notice  of  the  industries,  professions  and  societies 
of  the  city,  together  with  short  biographies  of  some  of  the  men  who  have 
aided  to  make  Chicago  what  it  is.  The  names  of  many  of  the  prominent 
citizens,  living  and  dead,  have  necessarily  been  omitted;  but  there  has  been 
an  earnest  effort  to  mention  the  names  of  representative  men  in  the  various 
industries  and  departments  of  life,  and  to  avoid  the  weakening  of  the 
glorious  record  by  introducing  biographies  through  the  promptings  of 
personal  friendship,  or  the  solicitation  of  those  interested  in  able  and  very 
worthy  citizens,  but  who,  though  no  doubt  destined  to  do  so,  have,  as  yet, 
made  no  mark  of  consequence  upon  the  character  of  Chicago.  As  strict  a 
fidelity  to  truth  has  been  maintained  in  the  writing  of  the  biographical 
sketches,  and  in  the  estimate  of  the  importance  of  the  subjects,  as  related  to 
the  progress  of  Chicago,  as  there  has  been  in  describing  the  events  which 
make  the  history  recorded  in  this  volume. 

Many  difficulties  have  presented  themselves  in  preparing  a  volume  of 
this  character.  It  has  been  no  easy  accomplishment  to  condense  the  volum- 
inous details  of  history  into  such  a  record  as  would  embrace  all  that  the 
student  of  history  could  profitably,  or  would  wish  to,  peruse.  In  a  history 
like  that  of  Chicago,  in  which  the  events  previous  to  those  which  have 
happened  within  the  recollection  of  some  now  living,  were  so  meager,  and 
since  which,  events  have  been  so  numerous  and  productive  of  such  marvelous 
results,  that  the  historian  is  tempted  in  the  first  instance  to  clothe  his  limited 
material  with  beautiful  surroundings,  which  at  best  are  but  remotely  con- 
nected with  it,  and  in  the  other  to  overestimate  occurrences  which  were 
exceedingly  interesting  to  the  observer  of  them,  but  with  the  record  of 


PREFACE. 

which  posterity  will  hardly  care  to  be  troubled,  much  difficulty  is  experi- 
enced in  attempting  to  sift  the  valuable  from  the  useless.  In  studying  the 
histories  which  have  already  been  written  of  young  Chicago,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  condensing  the  important  facts  into  a  volume  like  this,  much 
perplexity  has  resulted  from  this  cause;  but  it  is  hoped  that  the  effort  to 
make  the  volume  reliable  as  a  record  of  all  the  principal  events  which  have 
ever  occurred  upon  the  spot  which  the  fame  of  Chicago  has  made  of 
interest  to  all  the  world,  has  been  entirely  successful. 

Perhaps  the  most  formidable  difficulty  that  has  had  to  be  overcome , 
however,  has  been  the  general  apathy  of  the  distinguished  citizens  whose 
biographical  sketches  are  given,  in  furnishing  data  for  the  sketches. 
Unnecessary  trouble  has  been  given  the  Editor  in  the  majority  of  cases,  but, 
nevertheless,  a  complete  biography  is  presented  in  every  case  in  which  it  is 
attempted;  and,  perhaps,  under  the  circumstances,  and  in  view  of  the  fact 
that  prominent  citizens  have  sometimes  been  asked  to  pay  a  large  price 
for  biographical  sketches  in  other  works,  the  Editor  may  be  pardoned  for 
saying  that  no  one  whose  name  is  mentioned  in  "CHICAGO  AND  ITS 
DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS,"  has  ever  paid  anything  for  having  it  so 
mentioned.  The  aim  of  the  work  is  higher  than  that. 

So  far  as  the  biographies  are  concerned,  some  of  them  could  not  be 
omitted  in  a  volume  of  this  character,  and  have  it  so  much  as  approach  to 
completeness,  while  others  are  inserted  by  way  of  acknowledgment  of  the 
meritorious  part  that  has  been  played  by  the  subjects  in  the  advancement 
of  the  industries,  professions  or  societies  with  which  they  are  connected. 

Thus  is  briefly  outlined  what  has  been  attempted,  and  the  volume  is 
sent  forth  among  a  people  who  are  proud  of  the  record  they  have  made, 
and  among  those  who  would  like  to  read  of  their  grand  achievements,  as 
well  as  of  some  of  the  men  who  have  made  them,  with  the  hope  that  it 
may  prove  satisfactory  to  all.  D.  W.  W. 

CHICAGO,  ILL. 


CHICAGO 


AND  ITS 


DISTINGUISHED    CITIZENS. 


CHAPTER  I. 


INTRODUCTION. 

The  history  of  Chicago,  up  to  the  present  time,  will  always  possess 
something  of  the  character  of  romance  to  the  reader.  So  rapid  and  power- 
ful has  been  its  growth  amidst  conditions  which  originally  were  not  only 
not  wholly  favorable,  but  largely  adverse,  that  even  those  who  have  been 
witnesses  to  its  development  are  wrapped  in  wonderment  as  they  behold 
its  beauty  and  contemplate  its  commercial  importance.  From  an  appar- 
ently worthless  waste  to  an  elegant  city  of  over  half  a  million  of  people,  is 
naturally  a  long  step,  and  one  which,  under  ordinary  circumstances,  would 
be  expected  to  cover  centuries.  Chicago  has  spanned  the  distance  in  fifty 
years;  and  while  the  maturing  influence  of  age  is  yet  to  temper  her  youth- 
ful spirit,  and  touch  the  rude  spots  to  be  found  here  and  there,  with 
symmetry  and  elegance,  she  is  already  beautiful  to  behold  and  lovely  to 
contemplate. 

Not  only  does  the  great  West,  so  filled  with  marvels,  look  upon  her 
metropolis  as  the  greatest  of  them  all,  and  view  with  pride  the  constantly 
fresh  progress  which  it  is  achieving,  but  the  nation  long  since  began  to 
dispute  the  West's  exclusive  title  to  Chicago  ;  and  the  older  sections,  stifl- 
ing the  natural  jealousy  which  uncommon  success  on  the  part  of  a  younger 
rival  is  sure  to  arouse,  heartily  join  in  admiration  of  the  country's  Western 
capital.  The  broad  streets  lined  with  palatial  edifices,  the  beautiful  parks 
and  boulevards,  grand  already,  but  only  buds  of  future  elegant  bloom,  and 
the  unrivaled  enterprise  of  the  citizens,  are  admired  not  more  by  the  West 
than  the  East,  not  more  ardently  by  the  North  than  the  South.  And  what 
feeling  could  be  more  natural?  How  can  even  the  world  fail  to  have  an 
interest  in  this  monument  to  human  pluck  and  enterprise?  How  can  its 
affections  be  kept  from  going  out  toward  the  city  that  it  has  built  by  con- 


6  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

tributing  from  every  nook  and  corner  of  civiliz  ation,  muscle  and  mind  ? 
Chicago  is  a  picture  of  the  civilized  world  in  miniature;  not  a  section  is 
unrepresented ;  not  a  race  is  left  off  the  painting.  And  in  return  for  the 
world's  love  and  admiration  for  Chicago,  Chicago  loves  and  admires 
the  world.  While  its  people  are  devoted  admirers  of  their  great  city,  and 
are  bound  to  it  by  the  tenderest  ties  of  affection,  the  old  home  among  the 
hills  of  New  England,  in  the  beautiful  valley  of  the  Mohawk,  amidst 
the  gardens  of  the  South,  or  across  the  ocean,  is  never  forgotten  in  Chicago. 
The  flags  of  the  world  float  on  the  breezes  that  fan  the  great  city;  the 
tongues  of  the  world  are  spoken  in  its  homes  and  business  marts,  and 
the  manners  of  the  nations  pass  before  the  vision  like  a  steadily  moving 
panorama. 

The  anticipations  of  the  Chicagoan  as  to  the  future  greatness  and 
glory  of  his  city,  have  often  been  derided  as  unreasonable,  and  as  the  out- 
growth of  an  inordinate  vanity.  Such  an  estimate  of  them,  however,  must 
be  regarded,  in  view  of  existing  facts,  as  the  harmless  effervescence  of  envy 
or  the  result  of  ignorance.  Chicago  cannot  help  being  great.  She  is> 
surrounded  and  filled  with  the  natural  elements  of  greatness — greatness  as 
a  commercial  center  and  metropolis,  in  enterprise,  literature,  science,  gov- 
ernment, and  in  strengthening  the  ties  that  bind  mankind  in  a  universal 
brotherhood.  The  center  of  a  vast  and  growing  railroad  system,  which 
embraces  in  its  intricate  network  of  rails  the  entire  continent,  the  products 
of  our  broad  prairies  and  fertile  valleys  pay  it  tribute  on  their  way  to  the 
Eastern  seaboard,  and  the  Western-bound  merchandise  from  Eastern 
factories  makes,  in  one  way  and  another,  its  contribution  to  the  increasing 
wealth  of  the  city.  As  the  immense  elevators,  filled  to  overflowing  the 
year  round,  the  rumbling  of  the  constantly  coming  and  going  freight  trains, 
and  the  enormous  business  at  the  stockyards,  attest,  this  source  of  income 
alone  is  quite  sufficient  to  give  to  the  city  prominence  and  prosperity.  But 
such  activity  in  those  marts  of  trade,  styled  stock,  grain  and  produce  markets, 
very  naturally  stimulates  every  branch  of  legitimate  business,  and  the  result 
is  found  in  the  hum  of  factory  machinery,  and  in  the  mammoth  stores  which 
the  extensive  commerce  of  the  city  makes  a  necessity.  The  oldest  and 
largest  of  Eastern  commercial  houses  have  seen  the  necessity  of  acknowledg- 
ing all  that  we  have  claimed  for  Chicago,  and  have  already  established 
themselves  here.  Others  must  do  likewise,  or  suffer  the  loss  of  all  the  trade 
west  of  us,  and  a  very  large  portion  of  it  east  and  south.  This  market  is  so 
easily  accessible,  and  furnishing,  as  it  does,  advantages  equal,  and  sometimes 
superior,  to  those  furnished  in  the  East,  buyers  in  large  numbers  have 
already  learned,  and  many  more  are  rapidly  learning,  that  their  interests 
unmistakably  point  them  away  from  New  York  and  Boston  and  to  the 
wholesale  markets  of  Chicago. 

O 

The  very  best  enterprise  of  the  nation  and  the  world  has  made  Chicago 
what  we  have  thus  described  her  to  be.  Thriftlessness  cannot  build  up  a 
magnificent  city  and  an  extensive  commerce  upon  a  miry  marsh  or  a  bleak 
prairie.  The  men  who  first  came  to  the  spot  where  Chicago  now  stands, 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  7 

were  brave  men  filled  with  energy  and  the  spirit  of  enterprise.  Had  they 
not  been,  they  never  would  have  come.  The  then  present  had  nothing  to 
offer  them  but  the  companionship  of  the  treacherous  Indian,  the  song  of 
the  lake  waves  rolling  upon  the  shore,  •  muddy  stream  and  an  unbroken, 
trackless  prairie.  It  was  to  the  future,  lighted  up  with  such  hope  as  is  born 
of  courage,  perseverance  and  enterprising  industry,  that  the  first  settlers  of 
Chicago  were  compelled  to  look  for  the  reward  for  temporary  sacrifice  and 
personal  exposure  to  danger.  The  victory  could  only  be  won  by  one  con- 
tinuous siege  of  untamed  nature,  which  would  extend  far  into  the  coming 
years,  through  all  which  the  valiant  soldier  must  be  in  the  heat  of  the 
battle  or  sleeping  upon  his  arms.  The  early  settler  realized  this;  but  he 
had  enlisted  to  do  it.  That  he  did  his  duty  faithfully  his  achievements  are 
enduring  testimony,  and  posterity  will  never  cease  to  keep  his  name  chiseled 
in  bold  relief  upon  the  walls  and  monuments  of  the  city  whose  foundations 
rest  upon  his  courage,  industry,  enterprise  and  fidelity. 

From  the  day  of  the  pioneer  until  now,  the  same  enterprise  that  first 
led  the  white  man  to  step  his  foot  upon  this  territory,  and  to  build  here  in 
his  imagination  first  a  village  and  then  a  city,  has  led  to  this  spot  the  vast 
majority  who  have  come,  and  actuated  them  after  they  arrived  here.  The 
East  has  given  us  her  best  business  ability  and  her  best  energy.  The  cities 
of  the  old  world  have  awakened  to  realize  that  they  have  met  with  irrep- 
arable loss  in  the  emigration  of  representative  citizenship,  and  Chicago  has 
awakened  to  find  that  the  loss  has  been  her  gain.  Thus  the  foundation  of 
a  steady,  progressive  and  determined  community  has  been  laid,  and  in  the 
calm  and  sunshine,  as  naturally  would  be  expected,  it  pushes  steadily  for- 
ward toward  the  grandest  achievements,  and  in  the  storm,  or  even  amidst 
the  flames,  it  maintains  unflinching  courage  and  a  fixed  determination  not 
only  to  be  great,  but  to  be  the  greatest. 

Is  it  not  entirely  reasonable,  considering  her  diversified  population,  that 
Chicago  shall  realize  her  own  most  sanguine  expectations?  The  repre- 
sentative energetic  American  is  here;  England,  the  mother-land,  has 
contributed  the  sterling  stateliness  of  English  character;  she  has  given  to 
Chicago,  men  who  are  acquainted  with  the  merits  and  defects  of  a  model 
monarchial  government;  men  fresh  from  her  halls  of  science  and  from  her 
libraries  of  standard  literature;  Ireland  has  furnished  a  love  for  liberty, 
which  will  never  cease  to  burn  to  the  world's  advantage,  while  the  Irish 
heart  harbors  the  sentiment  and  Irish  lips  sing: 

"The  harp  that  once  through  Tara's  halls 

The  soul  of  music  shed, 
Now  hangs  as  mute  on  Tara's  walls 

As  if  that  soul  had  fled." 

Scotland,  the  land  of  romantic  hills  and  poetic  dells,  has  sent  the  metal 
of  Bruce  and  Wallace,  and  the  playful  genius  of  her  immortal  Burns;  from 
Germany  has  come  maturity  of  thought,  persevering  industry,  loyalty  to 
republicanism  and  the  mellowing  influence  of  music;  France  has  thrown 
into  the  midst  of  this  progressive  community,  an  impetuosity  which  is  sure 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

to  result  in  general  advancement,  if  rightly  directed,  and  a  gentility  which 
is  softening  to  character  and  elevating  in  influence;  and  thus  the  world  has 
contributed  something  of  all  that  it  feels  and  all  that  it  knows,  to  amalga- 
mate and  mature  here  into  a  beautiful  whole.  Strange,  indeed,  would  it  be, 
if  a  community  favored  with  such  a  variety  of  thought  and  experience, 
should  not  be  able  to  deduce  the  approach  to  perfection  in  all  that  an 
American  community  could  expect  or  desire. 


CHAPTER  II. 


OLD    CHICAGO. 

There  is  so  much  of  interest  and  brilliant  development  crowded  into 
the  history  of  Chicago  for  less  than  half  a  century,  that  they  charm  the 
mind  into  forgetfulness  of  the  fact  that  the  place  has  something  of  a  history 
previous  to  the  beginning  of  the  marvelous  career  which  has  distinguished 
it  since  its  christening  as  a  municipality.  Nor  is  it  at  all  strange  that  this  is 
so.  The  stars,  bright  and  beautiful  at  night,  are  paled  into  total  obscurity 
by  the  glitter  of  the  noonday  sun.  If  Chicago  were  not  the  attractive  and 
important  metropolis  that  it  is,  adorned  by  architectural  beauty,  which  is 
among  the  finest  in  the  world,  brilliant  with  the  delicate  designs  of  taste 
and  art,  and  stately  in  commercial  and  political  influence,  the  comparatively 
meager  events  which  make  the  history  of  old  Chicago,  would  always 
possess  a  fascinating  interest  to  the  student.  The  present  would  not  then 
be  chained  to  itself  in  contemplation  and  admiration;  the  restless  mind 
would  find  time  to  explore  the  wild  site  upon  the  lake  shore  when  the 
Indian's  footsteps  made  the  only  impress  upon  the  sand  and  among 
the  grass,  that  human  being  had  ever  made,  and  would  be  delighted  to  study 
such  footprints  until  the  eyelids  drooped  in  weariness.  The  mind  must  be 
entertained.  In  any  line  of  thought  that  it  adopts  it  will  penetrate  to  the 
utmost,  unless  fascinated  to  pause  by  enough  sublimity  to  more  than  fill  it. 
If  it  is  an  America  that  a  Columbus  seeks,  the  mind  will  be  satisfied  with 
nothing  short,  unless  in  the  search  for  it,  it  finds  something  so  far  surpassing 
what  it  has  conceived  it  to  be,  that  it  pauses  to  admire,  and  then  consents 
to  be  satisfied. 

Thus  in  the  search  over  these  broad  prairies,  and  back  through  the 
years,  for  the  novel  and  entertaining,  the  mind  pauses  in  astonishment  at 
the  sight  of  this  massive  and  beautiful  city — a  monument  to  human  fore- 
sight and  enterprise  such  as  the  world  never  before  reared  in  the  short 
space  of  fifty  years.  It  presents  itself  in  the  character  of  a  miraculous 
creation,  and  thus  almost  forbids  the  thought  that  there  was  anything 
anterior.  Chicago  means  to  the  average  observer  an  elegantly  constructed 
city,  with  wealth  and  the  height  of  social  and  commercial  prosperity,  and 
nothing  more.  Never  is  a  bleak  prairie  permitted  to  mar  the  present 
beauty,  or  to  add  romance  to  the  city's  birth  and  subsequent  record;  never 
does  the  moaning  or  the  harsh  howling  of  the  winds  creeping  or  rushing 
over  a  startlingly  wild  region,  nor  the  warwhoop  of  the  savage  charm 


io  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

the  imagination  into  bidding  the  enchanted  eyes  to  forget  for  a  moment 
what  the  present  is.  A  half  a  century  alone  has  left  its  impress  upon 
Chicago;  beyond  that  is  a  blank  as  dark  and  unfathomable  as  non-existence! 
This  is  the  character  in  which  Chicago  presents  itself  to  the  careless 
observer  and  superficial  student.  The  average  mind  is  satisfied  to  linger 
in  the  shadow  of  present  greatness  and  grandeur,  and  to  feed  itself  upon 
what  it  sees  and  what  the  yet  living  can  bear  testimony  of.  The  present  is 
the  noon  that  pales  the  stars  of  anterior  history. 

But  the  early  settlers  of  Chicago  and  the  most  careful  students  of 
history  love  to  turn  their  backs  upon  the  glitter  and  to  observe  the  dim, 
lengthening  shadows  of  the  early  days;  to  worship  even  at  the  daybreak 
of  civilization  and  Christianity  upon  the  spot,  in  which  the  name  of  Pierre 
Marquette  is  traceable  upon  the  cloudy  horizon.  Marquette  was  the 
morning  star  of  civilization  and  future  greatness,  that  glistened  amidst 
the  wildness  and  gloom  that  overshadowed  this  site  more  than  twa 
hundred  years  ago.  He  was  a  Jesuit  missionary  who  sailed  from  France 
for  Canada  in  1637,  and  who  on  a  missionary  journey  from  Quebec  to  the 
Mississippi,  halted,  in  the  month  of  July,  1663,  at  "Chicag&ux,"  or 
"Chikajo,"  which  was  the  early 'orthography  of  the  name. 

What  more  interesting  conjectures  can  employ  the  mind  than  those  as 
to  the  thoughts  of  this  devoted  man,  who  relying  upon  the  protection  of  the 
Power  to  whose  service  he  had  consecrated  himself,  sat  down  on  this  prairie 
to  rest,  and  to  commune  with  wild  nature,  animate  and  inanimate,  and  with 
nature's  Architect  and  Sovereign?  Did  the  least  glint  of  the  brilliancy  of 
the  present  light  up  the  weird  surroundings?  Did  he  behold  the  shadow 
of  a  single  spire  among  the  hundreds  now  pointing  to  the  skies,  stretching 
out  into  the  faint  past  to  the  spot  where  he  sat?  Did  he  hear  the  echo  of  a 
single  footstep  among  the  half  million  that  two  centuries  hence  were  to- 
make  their  discord  upon  the  pavements  of  a  great  city  the  music  of  civiliza- 
tion? We  cannot  tell.  The  same  natural  advantages  presented  themselves 
to  him  that  were  presented  to  those  who  in  after  years  came  and  saw  that 
they  were  sufficient  to  insure  the  grand  results  which  are  now  so  wonderful 
to  behold.  The  same  disadvantages  presented  themselves  to  discourage 
him  in  brilliant  anticipation  that  were  presented  tq  those  who  have  made 
Chicago.  But  we  love  to  go  back  through  the  centuries  and  sit  down  with 
the  good  old  man,  the  pioneer  representative  of  civilization  in  Chicago,  and 
permit  imagination  to  indulge  in  its  vagaries  as  to  his  thoughts  of  the  future 
of  his  wild  resting  place. 

But  while  it  is  interesting  to  allow  fancy  to  paint  the  mind  of  Mar- 
quette as  he  listened  for  the  first  time  to  the  voice  of  nature  in  a  region  so  far 
from  civilized  settlement,  and  beheld  the  broad  expanse  of  territory,  which 
then  nothing  but  the  keenest  foresight  could  have  predicted  possible  of  settle- 
ment by  people  from  the  haunts  of  civilization,  it  is  more  interesting  to  know 
that  after  leaving  the  romantic  spot,  and  visiting  the  French  who  were  then 
quite  numerous  in  the  region  of  the  Mississippi,  and  doing  what  he  could 
to  enlist  them  in  the  cause  to  which  he  was  consecrated,  he  returned  to 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  n 

"Chicagoux,"  in  the  Autumn  of  1665,  and  built  a  place  of  worship  and  a 
residence  on  the  North  Branch  of  Chicago  river.  The  visitor  thus  became 
the  pioneer  civilized  settler  of  Chicago.  The  Indian  treated  him  with 
leniency,  and  so  far  as  known  with  courtesy.  The  beneficial  effects  of  his 
teachings  upon  the  savages,  however,  were  not  permanent,  if  indeed  they 
were  observable,  except  it  was  to  be  seen  in  tb,e  fact  that  they  permitted 
him  to  live  in  peace  and  safety  among  them,  for  a  few  months,  and  then 
to  depart  to  meet  death  and  to  find  a  lonely  grave  in  the  woods  of 
Michigan,  on  his  way  back  to  Canada.  We  wish  that  in  compiling  this 
history,  we  might  leave  the  Indian  in  such  a  favorable  light  as  he  left 
himself  when  Marquette  left  him.  But  his  ferocious  nature  afterward 
developed,  as  it  is  now  well  understood,  and  he  was  treacherous,  brutish 
and  an  implacable  enemy  to  advancing  civilization.  To  scalp  and  devas- 
tate are  the  most  artistic  of  Indian  amusements,  and  the  eccentricity  of 
savage  character  is  manifested  in  denying  itself  the  enjoyment  of  such 
pastime,  whenever  favorable  opportunity  offers,  and  not  in  embracing  it. 
The  Indian  of  the  time  of  which  we  write,  as  the  development  of  history 
will  show,  was  not  different  from  the  Indian  of  now. 

With  the  temporally  settlement  of  Marquette,  therefore,  we  must  date 
the  dawn  of  civilization  upon  this  spot.  There  are  traces  of  French  occu- 
pancy of  the  place  prior  and  subsequent  to  this  time,  but  they  are  not  more 
distinct  than  that  a  fort  was  sometime  erected  here  and  subsequently 
abandoned.  It  is  well  settled  history  that  the  French,  who  were  in 
possession  of  Canada  prior  to  and  at  the  time  of  Marquette's  visit,  had 
determined  to  possess  themselves  of  a  large  portion  of  what  is  now  the 
United  States.  Their  plan  was  to  sweep  southward  along  the  Mississippi 
valley  to  New  Orleans,  and  then  to  reach  out  eastward.  To  aid  in  the 
accomplishment  of  this  object  a  fort  was,  no  doubt,  built  at  this  point.  The 
fort  could  have  been  built  only  by  the  French,  and  that  there  was  a  fort  is 
evidenced  by  the  words  of  the  treaty  which  General  Wayne  whipped  the 
Indians  into  making  with  the  United  States,  after  the  Revolutionary  war, 
and  which,  as  signed  at  Greenville,  Ohio,  contained  the  following  descrip- 
tion of  land  ceded  by  the  Indians: — "One  piece  of  land  six  miles  square, 
at  the  mouth  of  Chekago  river,  emptying  into  the  southwest  end  of  Lake 
Michigan,  where  a  fort  formerly  stood."  The  fort  was  abandoned  when 
Canada  was  transferred  to  the  English,  as  the  result  of  the  victories  of 
Wolfe,  in  1759. 

Our  history  must  start,  however,  with  the  settlement  of  Marquette  as 
the  only  definite  thing  known  about  the  first  occupancy  of  Chicago  by 
civilized  man.  Two  French  explorers,  Hennepin  and  LaSalle,  afterward 
visited  the  place,  but  with  that  exception,  so  far  as  we  can  determine,  it  was 
left  to  the  undisputed  possession  of  various  tribes  of  Indians,  who  made  it 
a  favorite  rendezvous  down  to  1796.  Then  civilization  was  again  reflected 
in  the  dark  skin  of  a  San  Domingo  negro,  bearing  the  formidable  name  of 
Jean  Baptiste  Point  au  Sable.  This  adventurer  has  been  facetiously  called 
the  first  "white"  settler  of  Chicago,  but  a  regard  for  the  truth  and  an  aclmi- 


12  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

ration  for  courage  and  devotion  to  duty,  will  hardly  permit  such  an  uncertain 
light  to  dim  the  luster  of  Marquette's  title  to  being  the  pioneer  of  civiliza- 
tion. In  view  of  what  the  character  of  the  men  who  have  built  Chicago 
has  been  and  is- — daring,  energetic,  and  emblematic  of  consecration  to  duty, 
to  self  and  humanity — it  is  not  interesting  to  accord  the  honor  of  being  the 
first  settler  to  one  who  came  and  saw,  but  did  not  conquer.  All  that  Jean 
Baptiste  Point  au  Sable  did  for  Chicago,  was  to  build  a  hut  and  then  desert 
it.  He  was  the  type  of  modern  tramphood — aimless,  shiftless,  useless. 
Marquette  came  for  a  purpose,  braved  danger  to  accomplish  it,  and  left 
only  when  duty  called  him  to  another  field. 

Following  Jean  Baptiste  Point  au  Sable,  came  a  Frenchman  named 
LaMai,  who  converted  his  predecessor's  hut  to  his  own  use,  and  faintly 
foreshadowed  the  character  of  the  future  Chicagoan  by  showing  enough 
enterprise  to  engage  in  trade  with  all  the  energy  that  his  surroundings 
would  sustain,  and  to  hold  his  possessions  until  he  could  sell  them  at  what, 
in  his  estimation,  was  a  remunerative  consideration.  LaMai  was  a  much 
more  desirable  ancestor  of  the  present  than  his  predecessor  was  ;  but  even 
he  can  hardly  excite  our  pride,  or  much  of  our  admiration.  He  was  deficient 
enough  in  strength  of  character  to  yield  his  vantage  ground  of  becoming 
famous  as  the  man  who  came  and  stayed,  to  John  Kinzie,  who  was  in  the 
employ  of  the  American  Fur  Company  at  St.  Joseph,  Michigan — the  presi- 
dent of  which  was  John  Jacob  Astor — and  who  purchased  of  LaMai  his 
"claim" — which  was  only  that  of  a  squatter — and  completing  the  claim,  and 
transforming  the  cabin  into  a  comfortable  dwelling,  as  it  would  beregaided 
in  a  frontier  settlement,  removed  his  family  from  St.  Joseph  in  1804. 

Previous  to  this  the  government  had  erected  a  fort,  called  Fort  Dearborn. 
In  1803  it  became  evident  that  a  necessity  existed  for  the  presence  of  the 
government  in  this  wild  region.  The  American  Fur  Company,  which  had 
large  interests  at  stake,  and  which  were  constantly  exposed  to  the  whims 
of  the  large  number  of  Indians  inhabiting  and  visiting  the  locality,  was  of 
sufficient  importance,  without  taking  anything  else  into  consideration,  to 
demand  protection.  Accordingly  it  was  determined  to  erect  a  fort.  St. 
Joseph  was  the  first  site  selected,  but  the  Indians  objected,  and  the  govern- 
ment  finally  decided  to  establish  itself  on  the  land  ceded  to  it  by  the 
Greenville  treaty.  In  accordance  with  this  decision  Captain  John 
Whistler,  who  was  in  command  of  a  company  of  soldiers  at  Detroit,  Michi- 
gan, was  ordered  to  move  his  command  to  the  portage  of  Chicago,  and  to 
build  and  garrison  the  fort.  Captain  Whistler  at  once  detailed  James  S. 
Swearington,  a  lieutenant,  to  conduct  the  soldiers  across  Michigan  to 
Chicago,  while  he  and  his  wife,  his  son  William — also  a  lieutenant — and 
his  wife,  started  for  the  same  destination  on  board  a  United  States  vessel, 
named  the  Tracy,  arriving  on  the  Fourth  of  July.  Two  thousand  Indians 
were  present  to  witness  the  arrival  of  the  vessel,  which  Dr.  Blanchard  says 
they  called  the  "big  canoe  with  wings." 

The  erection  of  the  fort  was  at  once  begun,  and  before  cold  weather 
set  in,  comfortable  quarters  were  provided  for  this  little  uniformed  advance  of 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  13 

governmental  authority.  Two  block  houses  occupying  respectively  the 
southeast  and  northwest  corners  of  the  grounds  enclosed,  constituted  the 
defenses.  Besides  these  there  was  a  log  building,  two  stories  high,  sided 
with  rough  boards  which  had  been  riven  from  logs.  In  this  was  stored 
the  goods  designed  for  free  distribution  among  the  Indians.  The  garrison 
of  Fort  Dearborn  consisted  of  one  captain,  one  second  lieutenant,  one  ensign, 
four  sergeants,  one  surgeon  and  fifty-four  privates. 

The  morning  of  civilization  seemingly  now  begins  to  dawn  upon 
Chicago.  The  great  civilizer,  the  sword — in  the  world's  history  always 
greater  than  the  pen — is  now  flashing  in  the  sunlight  that  warms  the  wild 
grasses  of  the  prairie  into  life  and  charms  the  waters  into  laughter.  United 
States  soldiers  are  inside  the  fort,  and  John  Kinzie  and  his  family  are  outside. 


CHAPTER  III. 


CHICAGO    FROM    1804    TO    1825. 

For  about  eight  years  from  the  completion  of  Fort  Dearborn,  there 
was  nothing  of  a  very  marked  character  to  vary  the  monotony  of  the  life 
within  and  without  the  fort.  The  number  of  traders  gradually  increased, 
and  peace  reigned  triumphant  between  the  red  native  and  the  white  settler. 
With  the  knowledge  of  the  treachery  of  Indian  character,  however,  possessed 
by  the  majority  of  the  settlers,  it  is  not  likely  that  any  anticipation  of 
immediate  future  greatness  of  the  place  ever  cheered  them  on  to  the 
accomplishment  of  more  than  could  be  appropriated  to  the  present.  It  is 
altogether  likely  that  they  were  constantly  looking  for  the  appearance  of 
clouds  to  shade  the  sunshine,  and  listening  for  the  first  muttering  of  the 
storm  that  should  swallow  up  the  calm.  John  Kinzie  knew  what  the 
Indian  was,  and  that  means  that  he  watched  for  outbreak  and  battle  every 
day  and  every  hour.  Others,  if  they  had  not  obtained  a  like  knowledge 
from  experience,  must  have  obtained  it  from  those  who  had.  If  dreams  of 
perfect  security  possessed  the  soul  of  any  one,  however,  they  were  rudely 
crushed  by  the  reality  of  Indian  opposition  to  the  occupancy  of  these 
prairies  by  civilization  and  commerce,  which  was  developed  in  the  Spring 
of  1812  in  the  attack  of  the  savages  upon  one  of  the  outlying  houses,  and 
the  scalping  of  the  only  male  resident.  From  this  attack,  they  descended 
toward  the  fort  with  the  intention  of  making  an  attack  upon  it,  but  con- 
sidering discretion  the  better  part  of  valor,  wisely  concluded  not  to  arouse 
the  garrison.  During  this  year  the  United  States  became  involved  in  a 
war  with  Great  Britain,  and  the  fort  at  Chicago  was  so  distant  from  head- 
quarters, and  the  English,  it  was  believed,  having  incited  the  Indians  to 
harrass  the  settlers  upon  the  frontier,  which  the  soldiers  could  not  possibly 
prevent,  it  was  deemed  expedient  to  abandon  the  fortification  and  leave  the 
country  to  the  savages.  Orders  were  issued,  and  received  by  the  commander  on 
the  seventh  of  August,  1812,  to  that  effect.  Captain  Heald,  then  in  command, 
was  instructed  to  distribute  the  goods  not  needed  by  the  soldiers,  among  the 
Indians,  which  he  informed  the  Indians  he  would  do,  on  condition  that  the 
Pottawatomies  would  furnish  a  safe  escort  for  the  command  to  Fort  Wayne, 
promising  an  additional  reward  upon  arriving  at  that  destination.  The  Indians 
readily  acceded  to  the  terms.  As  a  part  of  the  goods  to  be  distributed,  how- 
ever, consisted  of  liquors  and  ammunition,  Mr.  Kinzie  prevailed  upon  Cap- 
tain Heald  to  destroy  what  portion  of  these  was  not  needed  by  the  troops, 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  15 

which  should  have  embraced  a  total  destruction  of  the  liquors.  Liquor  has 
entered  largely  into  our  Indian  difficulties.  It  has  been  the  breeder  of  discord, 
misunderstanding  and  bloodthirstiness  frequently  on  the  part  of  soldiers, 
agents  and  Indians  alike,  and  the  fumes  of  rum  rise  from  many  a  pool  of 
blood,  and  from  many  a  skeleton,  on  the  plains. 

We  have/  no  wish  to  excuse  the  Indian,  and  no  intention  to  gloss  his 
real  character,  but  while  we  would  hold  him  to  a  full  responsibility  for  his 
cruelty  and  vindictiveness,  we  hold  up  the  man  who  would  tempt  him  to 
overreach  his  own  natural  instincts,  to  public  execration  and  scorn.  While 
rum  flows  through  our  valleys,  over  our  plains  and  down  our  mountain 
sides,  in  a  red  and  blighting  stream,  it  will  be  questionable  if  either  the 
sword  or  the  Bible  can  do  much  to  settle  our  Indian  difficulties  in  the  in- 
terests of  peace  and  civilization.  It  is  not  enough  to  keep  liquor  from  the 
Indian — it  must  be  kept  from  the  white  man  who  has  to  do  with  him.  The 
policy  of  keeping  all  we  want  to  drink  ourselves,  and  destroying  the  balance 
-—which  was  the  policy  adopted  by  Captain  Heald — is  productive  of  no 
good,  unless  the  conception  of  our  wants  is  that  we  do  not  need  any. 

The  liquor  which  was  not  required  by  the  troops  on  this  occasion,  was, 
therefore,  by  the  advice  of  Mr.  Kinzie,  emptied  into  the  lake,  the  waters 
of  which  were  eagerly  drank  by  the  savages,  who  declared  the  mixture 
almost  equal  to  grog.  On  the  thirteenth  of  August,  the  blankets,  calicoes 
and  provisions  were  distributed  as  agreed  upon,  but  the  deliberate  violation 
of  the  agreement  made  with  them  only  the  previous  day,  which  agreement 
virtually  stipulated,  of  course,  that  the  liquors  and  ammunition  should  also 
be  distributed,  did  not  have  a  tendency  to  soothe  the  Indians  or  to  command 
their  confidence.  The  utter  disregard  by  the  government  of  its  contracts  with 
these  people,  which  has  been  one  of  the  distinguishing  features  of  our  course 
toward  them  for  at  least  a  half  century,  thus  began  very  early  in  the  nation's 
history.  On  the  day  following  the  distribution,  the  Indians  assembled  in 
council  and  complained  bitterly  of  the  violation  of  the  contract,  which  no 
doubt  had  better  been  violated  than  kept,  but  it  never  should  have  been 
made;  and  we  have  little  doubt,  that  if  it  had  never  been  made,  no  threats 
would  have  been  uttered  at  a  council  held  on  the  fourteenth  of  August, 
although  it  is  not  certain  that  the  violation  of  the  agreement  had  anything 
at  all  to  do  with  the  subsequent  massacre.  That  might  have  happened, 
notwithstanding  any  treatment  that  might  have  been  accorded  the  savage. 

On  the  fifteenth  of  August  the  soldiers  left  the  fort,  and  the  military 
party  intending  to  march  round  the  head  of  the  lake,  started  southward,  but 
had  only  proceeded  a  mile  and  a  half  when  they  were  attacked  by  the 
Indians,  and  although  succeeding  in  dislodging  the  attacking  party — which 
was  concealed  behind  a  ridge  of  sand — the  Indians  were  too  numerous  to 
be  effectually  routed,  and  a  desperate  battle  ensued.  All  the  fiendishness 
of  the  Indian  heart  was  aroused,  and  twenty-six  soldiers,  twelve  militiamen, 
two  women  and  a  dozen  children,  were  murdered  and  scalped,  to  satisfy 
the  thirst  for  blood.  It  was  a  terrible  position  for  even  soldiers  to  be  in. 
Out  in  a  vastness  of  wildness,  a  wilderness  of  prairie,  hundreds  of  miles 


:6  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

from  civilization,  and  faced  by  death  at  the  hands  of  bloodthirsty  brutes  in 
human  form,  who  were  unmoved  by  pity  and  certainly  unawed  by  the 
little  handful  of  uniformed  victims,  the  situation  was  terrifically  desperate* 
It  was  only  the  bravest  of  the  brave  that  could  have  ever  made  a  stand  in 
defense  of  self  and  the  helpless  of  the  little  company.  The  very  first  attack 
proclaimed  the  utter  hopelessness  of  ultimate  victory  on  the  part,  of  the 
soldiers.  The  passions  of  the  savage  enemy,  as  unrestrained  and  unre- 
strainable  as  the  winds  sweeping  over  the  plains,  were  blazing  with 
consuming  frenzy,  and  the  large  numbers  which  these  passions  were  urging 
on  to  the  work  of  extermination,  must  have  paled  the  least  glint  of  hope 
into  the  deepest  gloom  of  despair.  But  although  the  certainty  of  defeat' 
was  plain,  and  the  possibility  of  a  single  life  being  spared  could  be  hoped 
for  only  through  the  mysterious  intervention  of  Providence,  the  soldiers 
looked  death  bravely  in  the  face,  and  fought  with  a  bravery  that  no  army 
encouraged  by  the  expectation  of  an  early  victory,  could  have  surpassed. 
They  proved  themselves  worthy  to  represent  the  valor  which  was  exhibited 
during  the  trying  years  of  the  revolution,  and  set  an  example  which  the 
American  soldier  has  always  imitated  on  the  field  of  battle. 

If,  however,  it  was  a  dismal  hour  to  the  brave  hearts  of  the  men,  can 
the  feelings  of  the  women  and  children  be  imagined  ?  While  it  is  true  that 
they  had  the  advantage  of  being  accustomed  to  scenes  which  the  mothers, 
sisters  and  children  of  our  homes  would  shrink  from,  and  of  experiences 
under  which  our  loved  ones  would  sink,  the  wild  whoop  of  the  infuriated 
Indian  on  that  eventful  morning,  crashed  through  the  soul  as  the  herald  of 
approaching  death,  and  must  have  half  paralyzed  the  senses  of  even  women 
who  had  been  brave  enough  to  attempt  to  carry  the  sweet  sunshine  of 
woman's  gentleness  to  brighten  the  cloud  of  barbarism  lowering  over  the 
plains.  Imagination  is  not  sufficiently  elastic  to  paint  the  feelings  of 
the  women  and  children  of  that  little  party,  and  language  is  too  weak  to 
describe  even  the  imperfect  picture  which  it  is  able  to  outline.  Perhaps  it 
was  merciful  that  the  agony  was  of  short  duration,  and  that  the  ghasth 
sight  of  twelve  scalped  children  and  two  women,  so  soon  told  that  they 
had  passed  beyond  a  knowledge  of  the  conflict  .and  from  beneath  the 
frightful  burden  of  apprehension. 

Captain  Heald  saw  plainly  that  a  continuation  of  the  battle  meant 
annihilation  of  his  command,  and  that  surrender  could  not  result  more  disas- 
trously, while,  perhaps,  if  surrendering,  their  lives  might  be  saved.  With 
a  view  to  securing  a  cessation  of  hostilities,  and  an  assurance  of  protection, 
he  withdrew  his  troops,  and  a  parley  ensued,  which  resulted  in  his  surrender 
to  the  Indians,  upon  condition  that  the  lives  of  the  party  should  be  spared. 
The  soldiers  were  now  marched  back  to  the  fort,  which  was  plundered  and 
burned  by  the  Indians  the  next  day.  A  few  days  after  the  massacre  the 
Kinzie  family  were  sent  to  Detroit.  Sometime  after  this  the  prisoners 
were  ransomed,  and  thus  ended  the  first  attempt  of  the  United  States 
government  to  establish  itself  at  Chicago.  Instead  of  advancing  civilization 
it  seemed  to  have  retarded  it,  inasmuch  as  for  four  years  the  spot  was  entirely 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  17 

•jiven  over  to  the  savages,  even  the  fur  traders  keeping  away  from  it.  In 
1816,  however,  the  fort  was  rebuilt,  under  thft  direction  of  Captain  Bradley. 
Sometime  after  the  reconstruction  of  the  fort,  Mr.  Kinzie  returned,  and  in 
1818  there  were  only  two  families  outside  the  fort — those  of  Mr.  Kinzie 
and  Antoine  Oulimette,  a  French  trader.  Both  of  these  families  were 
located  on  the  North  Side.  In  1818  Gurclon  S.  Hubbard,  visited  the 
place,  as  the  agent  of  the  American  Fur  Company,  and  is  still  a  resident  of 
the  city.  J.  B.  Beaubien  arrived  the  same  year.  In  1823  the  outside 
population  was  increased  by  the  advent  of  Archibald  Claybourne.  Certainly 
there  was  as  yet  but  slight  foundation  for  the  future  Chicago.  Almost 
any  body  would  at  this  time,  or  even  four  years  later — the  time  that  Major 
Long  visited  the  place  on  a  government  exploring  expedition — have  shared 
Major  Long's  views  of  the  prospects  of  the  spot.  He  said  in  his  report  to  the 
government  that  it  afforded  no  inducement  to  the  settler;  and  apparently  he 
was  right.  But  for  several  years  the  project  of  connecting  lake  Michigan 
with  the  Mississippi,  by  a  canal  from  the  lake  to  the  Illinois  river,  had  been 
agitated.  In  1814  the  matter  was  before  the  thirty-seventh  Congress.  In 
1818  it  was  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  State  legislature  by  Governor 
Bond.  Governor  Coles,  his  successor,  also  urged  the  importance  of  the 
project  in  1822;  and  the  year  following  a  Board  of  Inspectors  wai  consti- 
tuted, who  made  a  tour  of  inspection  during  the  year  1824.  Congress  in  the 
meantime  having  authorized  the  State  to  make  a  survey  through  the  public 
lands,  five  routes  were  surveyed  by  the  State  Commissioners,  and  in  1825 
the  legislature  chartered  the  Illinois  and  Michigan  Canal  Company.  But 
no  one  desiring  to  take  stock  in  the  enterprise,  the  act  of  incorporation  was 
finally  repealed,  and  Congress  again  took  up  the  matter.  The  result  now 
was  that  Congress — in  i82y — granted  to  the  State  every  alternate  section  in  a 
belt  of  land  five  miles  wide  on  each  side  of  the  proposed  canal,  upon  con- 
dition that  not  more  than  five  years  should  elapse  before  the  beginning  of 
the  work  and  that  the  canal  should  be  completed  within  twenty  years.  In 
case  of  failure  to  comply  with  the  conditions  the  State  was  to  be  held  liable 
for  all  moneys  received  from  land  sold.  The  State  accepted  the  conditions, 
and  although  the  canal  was  not  actually  commenced  until  1836,  the  con- 
ception of  the  enterprise  and  the  action  of  Congress  was  the  beginning  ot 
the  foundation  of  this  great  and  growing  metropolis. 


i8 


CHAPTER  IV. 


THE    TOWN    OF    CHICAGO. 

The  State  having  decided  to  construct  the  canal,  under  the  terms  im- 
posed by  Congress,  the  Canal  Commissioners,  appointed  by  the  State,  in 
1829  sent  James  Thompson  to  make  a  survey  of  the  lake  terminus — the 
present  site  of  Chicago — and  which,  though  not  originally  included  in  the 
State  boundaries,  Congress  had  previously  added,  thus  giving  the  State 
this  elegant  portage.  The  surveyor's  map,  however,  which  was  prepared 
in  the  following  year,  embraced  only  an  area  of  three  eighths  of  a  square 
mile,  and  included  the  territory  on  the  west  of  State  street,  bounded  by 
Madison,  Desplaines  and  Kinzie  streets,  the  land  east  of  State  street  being 
reserved  by  the  government.  At  this  time  there  were  seven  families 
outside  the  fort,  and  of  these  Mr.  Kinzie,  Dr.  Wolcott,  Mr.  Beaubien  and 
John  Miller  are  the  only  ones  whose  names  have  been  handed  down  in 
history.  It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  early  growth  of  the  town  was  slow, 
and  upon  a  casual  observation,  it  would  appear  astonishingly  so.  There 
were  natural  advantages — which  have  been  recognized  since,  and  by  most 
of  those  who  came  early  enough  to  be  called  pioneers  in  the  establishment 
of  the  town  of  Chicago,  were  recognized  then — and  the  prospect  of  a  canal 
linking  the  wild  spot  to  civilization  promised  additional  advantages,  the 
character  of  which  could  not  certainly  be  misunderstood.  But  after  all,  the 
disadvantages  would  naturally  outweigh  the  advantages  in  the  average  mind, 
which  is  not  as  acute  as  the  individual  minds  which  were  the  first  to  glow  in 
the  darkness  of  fifty  years  ago ;  and  especially  was  it  difficult  for  those  who  had 
never  visited  the  spot,  to  conceive  that  any  importance  could  attach  to  it, 
present  or  prospective,  in  the  face  of  the  official  report  of  Major  Loner. 
The  spot  was  a  picture  of  desolateness  as  perfect  as  the  artist's  brush  could 
trace  upon  the  canvas,  and  as  disfiguring  a  blot  as  nature  ever  suffered  to 
mar  the  fairness  of  her  face.  The  larger  portion  of  the  site  was  but  verv 
little  above  the  level  of  the  lake,  and  was  subject  to  frequent  inundations. 
Much  of  it  was  so  marshy  as  to  be  utterly  unfit  and  unsafe  for  travel, 
and  this  disagreeable  characteristic  was  prominent  in  some  of  the  streets 
even  after  the  city  had  grown  to  respectable  proportions.  Men  can  now 
be  found  who  saw  Chicago  when,  in  their  estimation,  the  whole  site  was 
not  worth  a  hundred  dollars,  and  they  thought  that  they  were  far  seeino- 
men,  too.  A  resident  of  the  West  relates  that  when  a  boy  he  came  from 
his  home  in  Joliet  to  visit  Chicago,  and  hearing  a  man  predict  that  the 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  19 

river  would  sometime  be  made  a  harbor  for  shipping,  and  that  Chicago  was 
destined  to  be  a  great  city,  hastened  home  to  induce  his  father  to  give  him 
a  hundred  dollars  to  purchase  land.  But  the  father  laughing  at  what  he 
was  pleased  to  term  a  child's  air  castle,  refused,  and  a  colossal  fortune  was 
lost.  There  were  many  like  this  man,  and  they  developed  in  large  numbers 
even  after  immigration,  a  few  years  later,  had  fully  set  in.  But  the  American 
nation  and  the  world  has  reason  to  be  thankful  that  there  were  those  who 
could  see  beauty  and  brightness  behind  the  clouds,  and  treasure  in  the 
repulsive  mire — men  who  believed  in  the  future  of  Chicago,  some  of  them 
having  lived  to  witness  a  perfect  realization  of  their  most  sanguine  hopes. 

The  Indians,  too,  must  be  charged  with  having  a  great  deal  to  do 
with  retarding  the  early  development  of  the  place.  In  1828  they  were 
particularly  restless  and  threatening,  and  the  murder  by  them  of  several 
immigiants  naturally  had  the  effect  of  stopping  immigration.  In  1831,  how- 
ever, the  law  of  the  survival  of  the  fittest  began  fo  make  itself  felt,  and  the 
Indian  received  preliminary  notice,  in  the  increase  of  immigration,  to  move 
on  wes' ward.  The  year  began  well  and  ended  better.  In  the  Spring  of 
this  year  Cook  county  was  organized,  and  then  comprised  the  entire 
territoiy  of  the  present  counties  of  Cook,  Du  Page,  Lake,  McHenry,  Will 
and  Iroquois.  The  resident  citizens  at  and  about  the  time  the  county  was 
organized,  were  James-Kinzie,  Alexander  Robinson,  William  Lee,  Elijah 
Wentworth,  Robert  A.  Kinzie,  Samuel  Miller,  John  Miller,  Mark  Beau- 
bien,  J.  B.  Beaubicn,  G.  Kercheval,  Dr.  E.  Harmon,  James  Harrington, 
James  Walker,  Billy  Caldwell,  an  Indian  chief  and  interpreter,  Mr.  McGee, 
the  blacksmith,  Colonel  R.  J.  Hamilton  and  Mr.  Bourisso,  an  Indian  trader. 
Samuel  Miller,  James  Walker  and  Gholson  Kercheval  were  the  first 
County  Commissioners,  and  were  sworn  into  office  by  J.  S.  C.  Hogan, 
Justice  of  the  Peace.  Archibald  Claybourne,  who  was  identified  with  the 
place  from  his  first  appearance,  although  not  really  permanently  settled 
until  some  years  after,  was  the  first  County  Treasurer.  During  the  year 
Colonel  R.  J.  Hamilton  acted  as  Treasurer  in  addition  to  performing  the  duties 
of  Judge  of  Probate,  Recorder  and  County  Clerk. 

The  County  Commissioners  soon  found  it  necessary  to  regulate  the 
charges  at  the  taverns,  and  the  following  rates  were  established  : 

Each  half  pint  of  wine,  rum  or  brandy.         .         .         .         .         .         .         .  25  cents. 

Each  pint  do         .         .  "      .         . 37^    " 

half  pint  of  gin 

pint          do 

gill  of  whisky 

half  pint  do 12 

pint  do  iS 

For  each  breakfast  and  supper. 25 

"         dinner.  -        .  37 

"         horse  feed.  25 

Keeping  horse  one  night 50 

Lodging  for  each  man  per  night. 12 

For  cider  or  beer,  one  pint.          ......  .         .  6 

"  "         one   quart. 12 

Elijah  Wentworth  and  Samuel  Miller  were  the  first  licensed  tavern 
keepers.  Samuel  Miller,  Robert  A.  Kinzie  and  B.  Laughton  were  the 


2o  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

first  licensed  merchants.  James  Kinzie  was  the  first  auctioneer,  and  Mark 
Beaubien  was  authorized  to  operate  the  first  ferry  across  the  river.  Mr. 
Beaubien  filed  a  bond,  v,ith  James  Kinzie  as  surety,  in  the  sum  of  two 
hundred  dollars,  conditioned  that  he  should  charge  only  those  who  lived 
outside  of  Cook  county  for  ferriage.  It  is  related  that  the  pioneer  ferry- 
man had  a  weakness  for  fast  horses,  and  that  owning  two,  he  gave  them  so 
much  attention  that  travel  across  the  river  was  seriously  impeded  at  times, 
which  state  of  affairs  caused  the  Commissioners  to  issue  the  rather  stringent 
order,  that  he  should  ferry  the  citizens  of  Cook  county  "from  daylight  in 
the  morning  until  dark,  without  stopping." 

The  population  was  now  gradually  increasing  and  business  was 
enlarging.  P.  F.  W.  Peck  arrived  from  New  York  about  the  first  of  June, 
with  a  stock  of  goods,  and  built  a  log  store  which  he  opened  and  occupied 
until  the  following  Fall.  Walker  &  Co.,  Brewster,  Hogan  &  Co.,  Nicholas 
Boilvin  and  Joseph  Naper  are  found  listed  with  the  merchants.  Many 
other  changes,  which  it  would  scarcely  be  profitable  to  record,  were 
naturally  occurring,  and  every  month  witnessed  an  increased  development. 
In  the  month  of  June  the  fort  was  vacated  by  the  soldiers,  who  were  then 
under  command  of  Major  Fowle,  and  in  the  Fall  it  was  occupied  by  some 
four  hundred  emigrants,  who  remained  there  during  the  following  severe 
Winter.  The  larger  proportion  of  the  residents  outside  also  went  into  the 
fort  during  the  Winter,  with  a  view  to  securing  greater  safety  and  also  for 
companionship.  The  only  communication  which  these  people  had  with 
the  outside  world  was  effected  by  a  half-breed  Indian  who  visited  Niles, 
Michigan,  every  two  weeks.  The  Winter  evenings  were  enlivened  by 
dances,  and  discussions  in  a  debating  society.  A  religious  meeting  was  held 
once  a  week  under  the  leadership  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mark  Noble,  Jr.,  and 
Mrs.  R.  J.  Hamilton. 

In  the  month  of  September  about  four  thousand  Indians  congregated 
here  to  receive  a  government  annuity,  and  after  being  paid,  a  scene  of 
drunkenness,  debauchery  and  general  villainy  ensued,  which  leaves  the 
mind  in  serious  doubt  which  was  the  greater  brute,  the  Indian  or  some  of 
his  civilized  brothers.  The  act  of  selling  the  savages  liquor,  thus  endanger- 
ing the  life  of  every  one  in  the  settlement,  is  evidence  of  sufficient  depravity 
to  cause  a  blush  of  shame  on  every  manly  cheek,  but  that  in  itself  rises 
almost  to  respectability  by  the  side  of  the  fact,  that  the  Indians  were  first 
induced  to  purchase  goods,  and  were  then  made  drunken,  that  those  who 
sold  the  goods  might  steal  them.  It  is  a  mystery  what  ever  became  of  such 
a  class  of  people.  They  have  no  descendants  in  the  Chicago  of  to-day. 
Chicago  honor  and  honesty  glitter  like  the  sun  at  its  zenith,  and  command 
the  admiration  of  the  world.  Upon  the  whole,  however,  the  year  1831 
was  one  of  whose  record  Chicago  will  always  feel  proud,  and  we  leave  its 
events  to  contemplate  what  succeeds. 

The  beginning  of  1832  is  memorable  for  the  scare  which  the  advance 
of  Black  Hawk,  with  five  hundred  warriors,  upon  the  Rock  river  country, 
gave  to  the  settlement.  Numbers  whose  houses  had  been  burned  and  stock 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  21 

captured,  came  from  the  Rock  river  settlements  for  safety,  and  by  the 
middle  of  May  about  seven  hundred  people  were  within  the  fort.  The 
majority  of  these,  however,  were  women  and  children,  whose  male  protec- 
tors had  gone  further  south  with  their  stock,  hoping  to  find  safer  locations. 
The  Indians  at  Chicago  were  at  first  inclined  to  join  with  Black  Hawk,  but 
finally  decided  to  send  out  a  hundred  warriors  to  oppose  him,  if  it  was  desired. 
A  force  of  twenty-five  men  was  organized,  and  under  command  of  Captain 
J.  B.  Brown,  and  accompanied  by  Captain  Joseph  Naper  and  Colonel  R.  J. 
Hamilton,  they  started  to  scour,  the  country.  They  formed  a  union  with 
three  thousand  militia,  and  a  detachment  of  regular  troops  from  Rock  Island, 
under  command. of  General  Atkinson,  and  this  combined  force  finally  routed 
the  Indians,  and  took  Black  Hawk  prisoner  on  the  twenty-seventh  of 
August. 

General  Winfield  Scott,  having  been  ordered  to  take  part  in  this  war, 
came  West,  but  did  not  arrive  until  the  war  was  about  ended.  His  com- 
ing, however,  was  of  great  benefit  to  Chicago,  for  upon  his  return  he 
gave  such  a  brilliant  account  of  the  place  that  a  general  interest  was 
created,  and  Congress  very  soon  made  the  first  appropriation  for  the  im- 
provement of  the  harbor. 

Among  the  arrivals  in  1832  were  Philo  Carpenter,  J.  S.  Wright,  G. 
W.  Snow  and  Dr.  Maxwell,  all  gentlemen  whose  names  afterward  became 
interwoven  with  the  history  of  Chicago.  The  first  building  was  erected 
on  the  public  square — the  land  now  occupied  by  the  city  and  county  build- 
ings— this  year,  and  was  an  estray  pen.  In  the  following  year  a  log  jail 
was  built  on  the  northwest  corner  of  the  square.  The  population  was 
now  increasing  very  rapidly,  and  the  government  saw  the  necessity  of  at 
once  entering  upon  the  work  of  improving  the  harbor.  Colbert  and 
Chamberlin,  in  their  "Chicago  and  the  Great  Conflagration,"  say: — "At 
that  time  the  main  channel  was  narrower  than  now,  and  instead  of  running 
in  an  almost  straight  line  into  the  lake,  it  turned  short  to  the  southward, 
round  the  fort,  to  a  point  near  the  present  foot  of  Madison  street,  and  then 
connected  with  the  lake  over  a  bar  of  sand  and  gravel,  the  water  on 
which  was  about  fifteen  yards  wide,  and  only  a  few  inches  in  depth.  A 
channel  was  cut  through  the  bank  running  straight  out  into  the  lake,  an 
embankment  formed  to  cut  off  the  water  from  the  former  channel,  a  pier 
run  out  to  a  short  distance  on  the  north  side  of  the  new  mouth,  and  a 
lighthouse  built  to  mark  the  entrance  to  the  new-formed  harbor." 

The  town  of  Chicago  was  organized  in  1833,  and  the  following  is  the 
record  of  proceedings: 

"At  a  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  Chicago,  convened  pursuant  to  public 
notice  given  according  to  the  statute  for  incorporating  towns,  T.  J.  V. 
Owen  was  chosen  President,  and  E.  S.  Kimberly  was  chosen  Clerk.  The 
oaths  were  then  administered  by  Russell  E.  Heacock,  a  Justice  of  the  Peace 
for  Cook  county,  when  the  following  vote  was  taken  on  the  propriety  of 
incorporating  the  Town  of  Chicago,  County  of  Cook,  State  of  Illinois: 

FOR    INCORPORATION — John    S.   C.   Hogan,   C.  A.  Ballard,  G.  W. 


22  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

Snow,  R.  J.  Hamilton,  J.  T.  Temple,  John  Wright,  G.  W.  Dole,  Hiram 
Pearsons,  Alanson  Sweet,  E.  S.  Kimberly,  T.  J.  V.  Owen,  Mark 
Beaubien — 12. 

AGAINST  INCORPORATION — Russell  E.  Heacock — i. 

We  certify  the  above  poll  to  be  correct. 

[Signed]  T.  J.  V.  OWEN,  President. 

ED.  S.  KIMBERLY,  Clerk." 

At  the  first  election  of  trustees  of  the  town,  held  on  the  tenth  of 
August,  there  were  twenty-eight  voters,  whose  names  were,  E.  S.  Kim- 
berly, J.  B.  Beaubien,  Mark  Beaubien,  T.  J.  V.  Owen,  William  Ninson, 
Hiram  Pearsons,  Philo  Carpenter,  George  Chapman,  John  Wright,  John 
T.  Temple,  Matthias  Smith,  David  Carver,  James  Kinzie,  Charles  Taylor, 
John  S.  C.  Hogan,  Eli  A.  Rider,  Dexter  J.  Hapgood,  George  W.  Snow, 
Madore  Beaubien,  Gholson  Kercheval,  Geo.  W.  Dole,  R.  J.  Hamilton, 
Stephen  F.N  Gale,  Enoch  Darling,  W.  H.  Adams,  C.  A.  Ballard,  John ' 
Watkins,  James  Gilbert.  The  election  resulted  in  the  choice  of  T.  J.  V. 
Owen,  George  W.  Dole,  Madore  Beaubien,  John  Miller,  and  E.  S.  Kimberlv. 
Mr.  Owen  was  elected  President.  The  town  now  contained  five  hundred 
and  fifty  inhabitants  and  a  hundred  and  seventy-five  buildings,  the  value  of 
taxable  property  being  about  twenty  thousand  dollars.  During  the  year 
1833  over  a  hundred  and  fifty  frame  buildings  were  erected,  among  which 
was  the  Green  Tree  Tavern,  which  was  the  first  building  erected  especially 
for  its  purpose.  Among  the  arrivals  this  year  were  J.  K.  Botsford,  Franklin 
Bascom,  E.  H.  Hadduck,  Walter  Kimball,  S.  B.  Cobb,  Mancel  Talcott, 
Starr  Foote,  S.  D.  Pierce,  John  D.  Caton,  Hibbard  Porter  and  Thomas  H. 
Woodworth. 

In  the  month  of  September  in  this  year,  the  Ottawas,  Chippewas 
and  Pottawatomies  of  Illinois,  at  the  invitation  of  the  government, 
assembled  in  council  in  Chicago  for  the  purpose  of  selling  all  their 
lands  in  Illinois  to  the  United  States.  The  Pottawatomies  of  Indiana  and 
Michigan  had  already  sold  to  the  government  the  .lands  which  they  still 
held  in  the  State.  A  treaty  was  concluded  at  this  September  council  by 
the  terms  of  which  all  the  lands  then  belonging  to  the  tribes  named,  became 
the  government's.  The  consideration  given  for  this  relinquishment,  was 
five  million  acres  on  the  Missouri  river  south  of  Boyer  river — to  which 
the  government  agreed  to  transport  the  Indians  at  its  own  expense,  and 
maintain  them  for  one  year — an  annuity  of  fourteen  thousand  dollars  for 
twenty  years;  improvements  in  their  new  home  to  the  value  of  one  hun~ 
dred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars;  seventy  thousand  dollars  for  educational 
purposes,  and  some  other  annuities  to  individuals,  and  the  payment  of  claims 
against  the  three  tribes.  This  treaty  was  consummated  September  twenty- 
sixth,  and  although  two  years  elapsed  before  they  were  removed — their  suc- 
cessful removal  being  accomplished  by  Colonel  J.  B.  F.  Russell,  with  ox 
teams — we  are  relieved  of  a  most  annoying  nuisance  in  the  history  of 
Chicago. 

We  have  no  desire  to  be  thought  vindictive  toward  these  native  barba- 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  23 

rians.  but  believing  that  this  naturally  rich  and  beautiful  country,  which  even 
without  the  touch  of  human  hand,  buds  and  blossoms  with  the  sweetness 
and  beauty  of  the  rose,  was  intended  to  be,  under  the  intelligent  direction 
of  civilized  man,  the  garden  and  the  granary  of  the  world,  we  have  no 
sympathy  with  the  morbid  sentiment  that  would  permit  an  insignificant 
number  of  worthless  savages,  incapable,  as  a  whole,  of  civilization,  to 
stand  in  the  way  of  development;  and  if  we  had,  it  would  amount  to 
nothing,  for  the  weaker  must  succumb  to  the  stronger. 

The  year  1834  was  one  of  very  marked  development.  The  steamboats 
on  Lake  Erie  began,  this  year,  to  make  weekly  visits  to  Chicago.  From  the 
twentieth  of  April  to  the  first  of  May  a  hundred  and  fifty  vessels  discharged 
their  cargoes  at  this  port;  the  voters  of  the  county  numbered  five  hundred 
and  twenty-eight,  of  which  Chicago  had  one  hundred  and  eleven;  a  stage 
line  was  opened  to  the  westward,  a  route  was  established  between  the 
town  and  Ottawa,  and  a  draw-bridge  was  built  across  the  river  at  Dearborn 
street. 

Noting  the  arrival  in  1834  of  such  men  as  William  Jones,  James  Grant, 
F.  C.  Sherman,  A.  E.  Webster,  Grant  Goodrich  and  Thomas  Church,  we 
pass  to  notice  the  events  of  1835,  which  was  a  prominent  year  in  the 
history  which  we  are  compiling.  This  was  the  year  of  inflation,  and 
inflation  always  means  disaster  in  the  end.  Chicago  was  then  the  Leadville 
of  to-day.  The  population  of  the  town  had  increased  to  over  three 
thousand,  and  land  was  being  sold  to  everybody  who  had  money  to 
buy,  even  though  the  buyers  had  nothing  left  with  which  to  purchase  a 
meal  or  a  night's  lodging.  Everybody  was  buying  lots  and  nobody  was 
going  into  legitimate  trade.  The  land  speculation  was  simply  enormous, 
and  as  if  there  was  not  enough  land  to  satisfy  the  demand,  the  government 
reservation,  on  the  east  of  State  street  was  included  in  the  town  limits  by 
an  act  of  the  legislature,  except  that  the  Fort  Dearborn  reservation,  lying 
between  Madison  street  and  the  river,  was  not.  included.  From  June  to 
December  the  sales  at  the  United  States  Land  Office  amounted  to  over 
three  hundred  and  seventy  thousand  acres,  and  most  of  it  was  located  in  or 
near  Chicago. 

The  town  this  year  found  itself  in  need  of  extra  money  to  an  extent 
that  seemed  to  necessitate  a  resort  to  borrowing;  and  the  treasurer  was 
authorized  to  secure  two  thousand  dollars,  a  proposition  which  so  startled 
him  that  he  resigned,  and  so  far  as  we  have  been  able  to  ascertain  the 
money  was  never  obtained.  There  were  other  officers,  however,  who  did 
not  shrink  from  the  discharge  of  duty,  some  portion  of  which,  as  is  always 
the  case  in  newly  settled  and  rapidly  growing  communities,  was  of  a 
very  delicate  nature.  The  Board  of  Trustees,  which  was  a  new  board 
elected  in  July,  was  composed  of  this  sort  of  mettle,  and  it  proceeded  to 
prohibit  gambling,  the  sale  of  liquor  on  the  Sabbath,  to  appoint  police 
constables,  establish  cemeteries — one  on  Chicago  avenue  near  the  lake  and 
the  other  at  the  corner  of  Wabash  avenue  and  Twenty-third  street — and 
seems  to  have  won  the  good  opinions  of  its  constituency,  and  might  have 


24  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

commanded  the  admiration  of  posterity,  had  it  not  foolishly  sacrificed  the 
valuable  wharfing  privileges  of  the  town.  In  November  of  this  year  the 
Board  of  Trustees  resolved  to  sell  these  privileges  for  nine  hundred  and 
ninety-nine  years,  the  board  agreeing  to  dredge  the  river  to  a  depth  of  ten 
feet  within  four  years  of  the  sale,  and  the  purchasers  to  bind  themselves  to 
erect  docks  within  two  years  from  the  date  of  th^  lease.  A  minimum  price 
was  fixed  at  which  parties  had  the  privilege  of  scouring  the  frontage- before 
the  public  sale,  and  there  appears  to  have  been  enough  to  avail  themselves 
of  this  opportunity  to  so  diminish  the  number  of  im^aken  lots  that  only  six 
remained  to  be  disposed  of  when  the  public  sale  o~curred.  This  is  not 
much  to  be  wondered  at  when  it  is  considered  that  the  minimum  price, 
fixed  for  lots  on  South  Water  street  was  only  twenty-five  dollars,  on  North 
Water  street  only  eighteen  dollars  and  seventy-five  ocvufs,  and  on  West 
Water  street  only  eighteen  dollars,  per  front  foot.  Indeed,  subsequent  to 
its  first  action  the  board  lowered  the  price  on  North  W-.'Ctr  street  from 
eighteen  dollars  and  seventy-five  cents  to  fifteen  dollars"  per  foot. 

The  year  was  also  distinguished  as  the  one  during  which  rlx  ilrst  fire, 
and  hook  and  ladder  companies  were  organized,  and  the  first  fii?  engine 
was  purchased.  The  following  are  the  names  of  the  members  of  fhese 
pioneer  companies :  Of  the  fire  company :  S.  G.  Trowbridge,  Foreman, 
H.  B.  Clarke,  John  Dye,  Joel  Wicks,  J.  M.  Morrison,  E.  Morrison,  H.  G. 
Loomis,  J.  H.  Mulford,  T.  O.  Davis,  H.  M.  Draper,  J.  S.  C.  Hogan,  R.  A. 
Neff,  H.  H.  Magee,  William  Young,  Peter  Warden,  Alvin  Cahoon,  Peter 
Pruyne,  W.  McForresten,  Ira  Kimberly,  O.  L.  Beach,  M.  B.  Beaubien,  A. 
V.  Knickerbocker,  S.  C.  George,  A.  A.  Markle,  S.  W.  Paine,  E.  Peck, 
Hugh  G.  Gibson,  John  Calhoon,  W.  H.  Clark,  J.  C.  Hamilton,  H.  C. 
Pearsons  and  D.  S.  Dewey.  Of  the  hook  and  ladder  company :  Jason 
McCord,  G.  W.  Merrill,  Thomas  S.  Hyde,  Joseph  Meeker,  J.  K.  Botsford, 
Thomas  J.  King,  N.  L.  F.  Monroe,  S.  S.  Lathrop,  G.  W.  Snow,  P.  F.  W. 
Peck,  Joseph  L.  Hanson,  T.  S.  Eells,  S.  B.  Cobb,  J.  A.  Smith,  Henry  G. 
Hubbard,  John  R.  Langston,  J.  K.  Palmer,  John  Wilson,  S.  F.  Spaulding, 
John  Holbrook,  T.  Perkins,  E.  C.  Brackett,  George  Smith,  and  Ira  Cook. 
Hiram  Hugunin  was  elected  Chief  Engineer. 

The  official  seal — a  spread  eagle,  having  three  arrows  in  his  claws, 
and  the  words  "United  States  of  America"  surrounding  the  same — was 
adopted  in  November  of  this  year;  and  thus  closes  the  year  1835.  It 
was  eventful  in  the  history  of  Chicago.  It  would  be  well  if  some  of  its 
record  had  never  been  made,  but  while  there  is  much  to  regret  there  is  a 
great  deal  to  be  proud  of  and  thankful  for.  The  year  will  always  be 
regarded  as  an  important  epoch  in  Chicago's  history  because  of  the  addition 
to  the  population  of  many  who  afterward  played  an  important  part  in  the 
city's  development.  Among  these  may  be  mentioned  John  Wentworth, 
Dr.  D.  S.  Smith,  L.  D.  Boone,  Isaac  N.  Arnold,  Laurin  P.  Hilliard,  Mark 
Skinner,  Norman  B.  Jucld,  W.  A.  Baldwin,  B.  W.  Raymond,  Walter 
Wright,  J.  M.  Van  Osdel,  Thomas  Dyer,  E.  S.  Wadsworth  and  Julius 
Wadsworth. 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 


25 


In  the  following  year  the  construction  of  the  canal  was  commenced 
— the  first  sod  being  turned  on  the  Fourth  of  July — and  1836  was 
in  other  ways  a  year  of  marked  advancement.  The  harbor  was  so 
much  improved  that  vessels  could  readily  enter  the  river,  and  many  very 
desirable  and  important  improvements  were  made  in  the  city,  such  as 
constructing  sluices  to  convey  the  drainage  to-  the  river,  and  turnpiking 
some  of  the  streets.  Other  improvements  were  in  contemplation,  but  the 
condition  of  the  treasury  prevented  the  authorities  from  carrying  them  out. 
fFhe  most  distinguishing  feature  of  the  year's  history,  however,  was  the 
movement  made  in  October  toward  organizing  a  city  government.  The 
town  being  divided  into  three  districts,  the  people  of  each  district  were 
invited  at  that  time  by  the  President  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  to  send  three 
representatives  to  consult  with  the  board  as  to  the  propriety  of  applying  to 
the  legislature  for  a  charter.  Meetings  were  held  in  the  several  districts 
and  Ebenezer  Peck,  William  Stewart,  and  E.  W.  Casey,  of  the  first  district, 
W.  Forsyth,  J.  D.  Caton  and  Mr.  Chedwick,  of  the  second,  and  W.  S. 
Newberry,  John  H.  Kinzie  and  T.  W.  Smith  of  the  third,  were  selected  as 
delegates,  and  the  conference  was  held  on  the  evening  of  November  twenty- 
eighth,  at  which  it  was  resolved  that  it  was  expedient  to  ask  for  a  charter. 
Upon  the  adoption  of  this  resolution,  a  committee  consisting  of  Messrs. 
Bolles  and  Ogden,  of  the  trustees,  and  Messrs.  Peck,  Caton  and  Smith,  of 
the  delegates,  were  appointed  to  prepare  the  draft  of  a  charter.  On  the  ninth 
of  the  following  month  another  meeting  of  the  trustees  and  delegates  was 
held,  the  draft  prepared  by  the  committee  submitted,  and,  with  some  amend- 
ments, adopted. 

Thus  we  come  to  the  end  of  the  history  of  the  town  of  Chicago,  a 
history  which  is  full  of  interest,  for  in  the  three  years  and  a  half  that  it  was 
making,  the  population  grew  from  a  handful  up  into  the  thousands,  the 
value  of  property  increased  from  almost  nothing  to  nearly  one  million 
dollars,  and  the  wildest  of  sites  was  about  to  become  the  location  of  a  city 
which  was  destined  to  be  the  metropolis  of  America. 


26 


CHAPTER  V. 


THE    CITY    OF    CHICAGO. 

We  begin  to  emerge  into  the  midst  of  familiar  surroundings.  Having 
pursued  our  investigations  in  the  far  distance,  and  followed  footsteps 
which  were  interesting  because  they  were  quaint,  we  are  now  where  we 
recognize  the  footprints.  From  the  deepening  shadows  of  the  past  we 
have  come  into  the  sunshine  of  the  present.  The  title  of  the  chapter  is  not 
strange  to  any  ear  in  the  civilized  world,  and  is  charmingly  melodious  to 
the  five  hundred  thousand  people  who  are  as  proud  of  being  Chicagoans 
as  the  citizen  of  ancient  Rome  was  proud  of  being  a  Roman.  And  yet 
how  few  of  us  stood  by  the  cradle  of  this  young  city.  As  the  historian 
leads  us  back  to  the  birth  and  baptism  of  the  infant,  a  half  million  people 
inquire,  Where  are  the  sponsors?  and  but  few  answer  to  the  call  of  their 
names.  There  is  but  a  handful  left.  The  young  men  of  then  are  the 
fathers  and  grandfathers  of  now;  the  brows  that  were  then  garlanded  with 
the  bloom  of  Spring  are  now  whitened  by  the  Winter's  snows,  and  grooved 
by  the  steady  wear  -of  the  years.  We  look  for  some  of  the  faces  -which 
history  has  made  familiar,  but  they  are  not  here.  But  although  lost  to  sight, 
their  memories  are  cherished,  and  their  deeds  still  live.  As  long  as  there 
is  a  spire,  a  wall  or  a  page  of  history  reflecting  the  luster  of  the  names  of  the 
founders  of  Chicago,  posterity  will  tread  softly  as  it  approaches  their  tombs, 
and  bow  the  head  reverently  in  the  shadow  of  the  monuments  that  mark 
their  resting  places.  All  honor  to  the  men,  living  or  dead,  who  brought 
this  great  city  into  being. 

The  charter  under  which  the  city  was  organized  was  granted  by  the 
legislature,  and  approved  March  4th,  1837.  The  territorial  limits  were 
bounded  on  the  north  by  North  avenue,  on  the  east  by  the  lake — with  the 
exception  that  a  portion  of  section  ten  was  occupied  as  a  military  post,  and 
excluded — on  the  south  by  Twenty-second  street,  and  on  the  west  by  Wood 
street.  In  addition  to  this  ten  square  miles — which  was  the  area — there 
was  included  the  land  on  the  lake  shore  east  of  Clark  street,  and  extending 
a  half  mile  north  of  North  avenue. 

The  city  was  divided  into  six  wards.  The  first  election  was  held  on 
the  first  Tuesday  of  May  following  the  date  of  the  approval  of  the  charter, 
the  result  being  as  follows :  Mayor,  William  B.  Ogden ;  Aldermen : — First 
ward,  J.  C.  Goodhue  and  Francis  Sherman;  second  ward,  J.  S.  C.  Hogan 
and  Peter  Bolles;  third  ward,  J.  D.  Cator.  and  H.  Hugunin;  fourth  ward, 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  27 

A.  Pierce  and  F.  H.  Taylor;  fifth  ward,  Bernard  Ward;  sixth  ward,  S. 
Jackson  and  H.  Pearson.  John  Shrigley  was  elected  High  Constable,  and 
Norman  B.  Judd  was  chosen  City  Attorney. 

The  population  at  this  time,  including  the  sailors  belonging  to  vessels 
owned  in  Chicago,  was  nearly  four  thousand,  and  there  were  in  the  place 
three  hundred  and  ninety-eight  dwellings,  four  warehouses,  five  churches, 
twenty-nine  dry  goods  stores,  nineteen  grocery  and  provision  stores,  five 
hardware  stores,  three  drug  stores  and  ten  taverns.  Chicago  started  with 
an  overplus  of  taverns,  and  although  the  tavern  has  risen  to  the  dignity  of  a 
hotel,  in  name,  we  still  have  more  "taverns"  than  is  beneficial  to  the 
community.  Chicago  is  very  largely  domiciled  in  hotels.  Her  populace 
seem  to  have  inherited  the  early  inclination  to  have  no  real  home,  and  to 
be  satisfied  to  sleep  and  eat,  without  a  fig  tree  of  their  own.  Our  hotels 
are  palaces,  which  eclipse  the  hotels  of  the  world,  and  in  them  the  guest  is 
often  surrounded  with  elegance  which  could  not  be  secured  in  a  private 
home.  But  there  is  no  place  like  the  exclusive  retreat  of  a  private  family. 
Husband  and  wife,  parent  and  child,  brother  and  sister,  friend  and  friend, 
can  approrch  the  fullest  enjoyment  of  life,  and  secure  the  grandest 
development  of  personal  virtues,  only  in  the  home  over  whose  threshold 
and  near  whose  door  the  stranger  is  forbidden  to  tread. 

The  city  of  Chicago,  however,  was  apparently  favored  at  its  birth. 
It  possessed  determination,  a  goodly  population,  and  the  enterprise  which 
has  always  distinguished  it.  But  the  most  acute  cannot  look  into  the  future. 
Scarcely  had  the  city  begun  to  live,  when  a  great  financial  panic — kn'own 
as  the  panic  of  1837 — appeared  to  antagonize  its  prosperity.  The  young 
city  was  utterly  prostrate  under  the  misfortune.  Real  estate  decreased  in 
value  eighty  per  cent.,  or  rather  that  was  the  difference  between  what  it 
was  bought  for  in  1836  and  could  be  sold  for  in  1837.  The  people  grew 
restless  and,  in  some  degree,  desperate.  They  held  a  meeting  for  the 
purpose  of  inaugurating  measures  looking  to  virtual  repudiation  of  debts, 
which  is  more  fully  detailed  in  the  sketch  of  the  life  of  the  first  Mayor, 
at  the  close  of  this  chapter.  Yet  this  should  not  be  a  cause  of  surprise  or 
really  of  censure.  Men  rush  to  a  rapidly  developing  frontier  settlement, 
and  invest  their  all  in  what  promises  to  be  a  success.  Adversity  comes, 
and  their  means,  little  or  great,  sink  out  of  sight.  Not  having  the  pene- 
trating foresight  and  cool  reasoning  faculties  of  a  William  B.  Ogden,  the 
vast  majority  cannot  see  the  silvery  lining  to  the  cloud.  Possibly,  and 
probably,  there  were  dishonest  men  in  the  repudiation  meeting  of  1837, 
but  it  is  better  to  cover  their  faults  with  charity,  and  to  crown  the  majoritv 
which  declared  that  the  people  of  the  city  would  not  repudiate,  with  the 
choicest  laurels  of  honor.  For  five  years  from  1837  the  city  was  loaded 
down  with  more  financial  embarrassment  than  any  other  community  in 
the  country.  The  people  generally  had  invested  all  they  had  in  real 
estate,  and  they  were  compelled  to  resort  to  the  land  for  subsistence. 
Consequently  gardens  abounded,  and  these  were  the  basis  of  the  appellation 
of  "Garden  City,"  a  pretty  name  by  which  Chicago  is  known,  but  which. 


28  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

without  this  explanation,  the   observer  of  our   thickly  populated    streets 
would  find  it  difficult  to  account  for. 

Mr.  Ogden  was  succeeded  in  the  Mayoralty  by  B.  S.  Morris,  who  was 
elected  in  1838,  and  served  until  the  election  of  Benjamin  W.  Raymond  to 
the  office,  in  March  of  the  following  year.  The  most  noticeable  events  of 
1839  were  the  distress  which  prevailed  among  the  people  living  in  the 
shanties  along  the  line  of  the  canal — many  of  whom  flocked  into  the  city 
for  the  pui'pose  of  obtaining  aid — and  the  sale  to  Chicago  of  the  Fort 
Dearborn  addition.  An  effort  was  made  by  Mayor  Raymond  and  others 
to  induce  the  government  to  give  this  land  td  the  city,  but  it  was  futile. 

Mr.  Raymond  was  elected  to  a  second  term  of  the  Mayoralty,  and 
from  his  retirement  from  the  office  the  city  has  had  the  following  Mayors: 
Augustus  Garrett,  Alanson  Sherman,  John  P.  Chapin,  James  Curtis, 
James  H.  Woodworth,  Walter  S.  Gurnee,  Charles  M.  Gray,  Isaac  L. 
Milliken,  Levi  D.  Boone,  Thomas  Dyer,  John  Wentworth,  John  C. 
Haines,  Julian  S.  Rumsey,  Francis  C.  Sherman,  John  B.  Rice,  Roswell 
B.  Mason,  Joseph  Medill,  Harvey  D.  Colvin,  Monroe  Heath  and  Carter 
H.  Harrison. 

After  1842,  when  the  financial  panic  began  to  yield  to  prosperity, 
there  was  a  steady  progress  toward  bringing  order  out  of  the  considerable 
degree  of  chaos,  and  toward  the  symmetry,  beauty  and  convenience  which 
is  now  beheld.  Naturally  enough  the  advance  was  slow,  for  there  was 
everything  to  do,  and  very  little  to  do  it  with.  There  were  streets  to 
be  paved,  a  city  to  be  drained,  lighted,  and  supplied  with  water,  and  a 
harbor  to  be  improved,  altogether  aggregating  a  vast  deal  of  work,  much 
of  which  must  be  performed  under  exceedingly  adverse  circumstances. 
Previous  to  1840  the  only  water  supply  was  the  peddler  and  his  pail, 
and  these  furnished  the  always  necessary  liquid  at  the  doors  of  the  houses 
at  so  much  a  bucketful.  In  1840,  however,  the  Hydraulic  Company, 
which  was  organized  in  1836,  with  a  capital  of  two  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  dollars,  began  to  supply  the  city  with  water.  The  company  built 
a  reservoir  on  the  corner  of  Lake  street  and  Michigan  avenue,  twenty-five 
feet  square,  eight  feet  deep,  and  elevated  to  a  height  of  eighty  feet  above 
the  surface  of  the  ground.  A  pump  was  erected,  which  was  connected  by 
an  iron  pipe  with  the  lake,  and  which  ran  into  the  lake  a  distance  of  a 
hundred  and  fifty  feet.  This  pump  was  operated  by  an  engine  of  twenty- 
five  horse  power,  and  the  water  was  distributed  through  logs  which  had- 
been  bored  out. 

In  1842  James  Long  contracted  with  the  Hydraulic  Company  to  do 
all  the  pumping  for  the  city  for  ten  yeai's,  without  cost  to  the  company, 
in  consideration  of  his  having  the  free  use  of  the  surplus  power  of  the 
engine;  but  long  before  that  contract  expired  the  engine  proved  too  small 
to  do  the  work. 

In  1852,  bonds  to  the  amount  of  four  hundred  thousand  dollars  were 
issued  by  the  city  for  the  construction  of  water  works,  and  from  the  sale 
of  these  bonds  three  hundred  and  sixty-one  thousand  two  hundred  and 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  29 

eighty  dollars  was  realized,  and  the  work  of  inaugurating  a  new  water 
system  was  entered  upon.  Near  the  site  of  the  present  pumping  works 
on  the  North  Side,  a  timber  crib  was  built  six  hundred  feet  from  the 
shore,  the  water  conducted  into  a  well,  from  which  it  was  pumped  by  a 
two  hundred  horse  power  engine,  into  a  cast  iron  column  one  hundred  and 
forty  feet  high.  A  reservoir  sufficient  to  hold  a  night's  supply,  was 
subsequently  built  in  each  of  the  three  Divisions  of  the  city.  The  water 
was  first  introduced,  by  this  system,  into  the  houses  in  February,  1854. 

These  works  were  superseded  in  1867,  by  a  new  water  tower,  immense 
pumping  machinery,  and  the  great  lake  tunnel.  The  construction  of  this 
tunnel — which  was  projected  by  E.  S.  Chesbrough,  and  is  a  monument  to 
his  ability  as  an  engineer — was  begun  on  the  seventeenth  of  March,  1864. 
A  shaft  nine  feet  in  diameter  was  sunk  at  the  shore  end,  to  a  depth  of 
seventy-five  feet.  To  accomplish  this  it  was  necessary  to  sink  an  iron 
cylinder  down  through  the  quicksands,  which  covered  the  clay  subsoil, 
to  a  depth  of  twenty-five  feet.  The  sand  inside  the  sunken  cylinder  was 
removed  until  clay  was  reached,  when  the  excavation  was  continued  to  the 
distance  below  the  surface  above  noted,  and  the  whole  bricked  up  from 
the  bottom.  At  the  proposed  east  end  of  the  tunnel,  which  was  two 
miles  out  into  the  lake,  a  crib  forty  and  a  half  feet  high,  made  in  the  shape 
of  a  pentagon,  the  extreme  circumscribing  circle  of  which  was  ninety  feet 
in  diameter,  was  sunk  on  the  twenty-fifth  of  July,  1865.  This  crib  was 
built  of  logs  a  foot  square  and  consisted  of  three  walls  placed  at  a  distance 
of  eleven  feet  from  each  other,  leaving  a  central  pentagonal  space  having 
an  inscribing  circle  of  twenty-five  feet,  which  was  intended  for  the  accom- 
modation of  an  iron  cylinder  which  is  nine  feet  in  diameter.  The  crib 
contains  seven  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  feet  of  lumber,  one  hundred 
and  fifty  tons  of  iron  bolts,  and  being  filled  with  four  thousand  and  five 
hundred  tons  of  stones,  weighs  fifty-seven  hundred  tons. 

On  the  twenty-second  of  December,  1865,  the  workmen  descended  the 
iron  tube  within  the  crib,  and  began  tunneling  toward  the  shore,  a  set  of 
workmen  in  the  meantime  being  engaged  in  the  work  of  tunneling  from 
the  shore.  In  December,  1866,  the  two  sets  of  workmen  met,  and  on  the 
sixth  of  that  month  the  last  stone  was  laid,  and  this  magnificent  piece  of 
engineering  completed. 

The  inside  width  of  the  tunnel  is  five  feet,  and  the  height  is  five  feet 
and  two  inches.  The  lining  is  brick  masonry  eight  inches  thick,  in  two 
shells,  the  bricks  being  laid  lengthwise  of  the  tunnel.  The  bottom  of  the 
inside  surface  at  the  east  etid  is  sixty  feet  below  water  level,  and  the  shore 
end  is  four  feet  lower,  giving  the  tunnel  a  decline  of  two  feet  to  the  mile. 
Water  was  first  supplied  to  the  hydrants  of  the  city  from  this  tunnel  on  the 
twenty-fifth  of  March,  1867.  In  1878  the  tunnel  was  extended  under 
the  city  to  the  West  Division,  and  there  are  now  large  and  elegant  pump- 
ing works  at  the  corner  of  Ashland  avenue  and  Twenty-second  street. 

But  comparatively  rude  as  was  the  water  system  adopted  or  endured 
in  1840,  it  was  considerably,  in  advance  of  the  street  improvements.  At 


30  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

first  drainage  was  sought  to  be  effected  bv  ditches  on  the  sides  of  the  street, 

o  o  •* 

but  as  these  did  not  answer  the  purpose,  an  attempt  was  made  to  improve  the 
••-\  stem"  by  digging  a  drain  in  the  middle  of  the  street.  It  was,  however,  a 
change  and  not  an  improvement.  The  imperfect  drainage  continued  until 
the  severe  visitation  of  the  cholera  in  1854,  by  wrhich  the  larger  proportion 
of  the  three  thousand  eight  hundred  and  thirty  deaths — one  to  every 
seventeen  inhabitants — which  occurred  during  the  year,  was  caused.  The 
epidemic  was  believed  to  be  largely  attributable  to  this  cause. 

But  how  was  it  to  be  improved?  As  already  noticed  in  a  previous 
chapter,  the  land  was  very  little  above  the  level  of  the  lake,  and  so  small 
was  the  elevation  that  a  sufficient  slope  to  pipes  and  sewers  could  not  be 
obtained.  But  Chicago  was  not  made  of  material  to  surrender  to  difficulties, 
and  it  was  decided  to  raise  the  grade  four  feet.  Later  it  was  raised  some 
seven  feet  above  the  original  level  of  the  land.  The  work  of  filling  in, 
however,  was  not  begun  to  any  great  extent  until  1856,  and  was  really  not 
vigorously  pushed  forward  until  1859  and  1860.  During  these  years  the 
work  of  lifting  up  the  city  was  commenced  in  earnest,  and  entire  blocks 
of  heavy  stone  and  brick  buildings  were  raised,  new  foundations  built  up, 
and  the  land  raised  to  accommodate  the  new  nature  of  things.  With  the 
raising  of  the  grade  came  improved  drainage,  and  by  the  middle  of  1857 
all  the  more  thickly  settled  portions  of  the  city  had  been  sewered. 

With  the  elevation  of  {he  surface  and  improved  drainage,  came,  also, 
the  desire  for  better  streets,  or  perhaps  the  desire  always  existed,  and  it 
would  be  more  proper  to  say,  that  with  these  improvements  came  the 
determination  to  improve  the  streets.  Previous  to  1844  a  few  plank  side- 
walks had  been  laid,  but  the  roadway  of  the  streets  were  barren  of  anything 
in  the  shape  of  pavement,  and  the  difficulty  of  travel  upon  the  soft,  wet 
soil  will  readily  suggest  itself,  without  any  attempt  at  description.  This 
year  witnessed  the  beginning  of  the  planking  process,  which  was  continued 
until  twenty-seven  miles  of  streets  were  planked.  But  it  was  little  better 
than  no  pavement.  In  fact  after  a  short  time  the  planks  became  broken 
and  displaced  by  travel  and  the  thawing  of  the  ground,  and  then  were  a 
cause  of  more  trouble  and  inconvenience  than  the  soil  without  planks. 
But  this  was  the  style  of  pavement  used  for  more  than  ten  years,  at 
the  expiration  of  about  wrhich  time  cobble  stones  began  to  be  used  to 
some  little  extent.  Some  of  the  leading  thoroughfares,  however,  were 
treated  to  a  covering  of  macadam.  But  the  favorite  pavement  of  Chicago 
— wooden  blocks — was  first  tried  in  1856,  on  about  eight  hundred  square 
yards  on  Fifth  avenue,  between  Lake  and  South  *Water  streets.  In  the  year 
following  another  piece  was  laid  on  Washington  street  between  Clark 
and  State  streets.  In  1858-9  Clark  street  from  Lake  to  Polk  streets  was 
paved  with  wooden  blocks,  and  East  Lake  street  was  similarly  paved 
in  1861. 

Since  then  this  pavement  has  become  well  nigh  universal  in  all  our 
paved  streets,  and  while  there  are  many  side  streets  yet  unpaved,  and  while 
there  is  impatience  manifested  to  have  something  done  to  prevent  the 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  31 

transferring  of  tons  of  dirt  from  these  streets  to  those  that  are  paved,  a 
little  thought  will  convince  the  impatient  that  in  our  paved  main  thorough- 
fares is  represented  a  most  satisfactory  progress.  The  citizen  who  feels 
that  a  more  rapid  advance  should  have  been  made,  should  lose  no  time  in 
tempering  his  unreasonable  impatience  by  perusing  the  history  of  the  world  in 
the  endeavor  to  find  a  parallel  of  the  progress  of  less  than  a  half  century, 
upon  a  spot  which  excites  the  wonder  and  admiration  of  mankind.  When 
the  parallel  is  discovered,  he  may  assume  the  right  to  complain. 

In  1847  the  city  limits  were  extended  to  Western  avenue  on  the  west, 
and  to  embrace  all  the  territory  between  North  and  Fullerton  avenues,  east 
of  Sedgwick  street.  In  1854  the  boundaries  of  the  city  became  Fullerton 
avenue  on  the  north,  Thirty-first  streettm  the  south,  Western  avenue  on  the 
west,  and  one  mile  into  the  lake  on  the  east.  Bridgeport  and  Holston  were 
not  then  included  in  the  limits.  The  State  legislature  in  184 3-4  passed  an  act 
providing  for  the  completion  of  the  Illinois  and  Michigan  canal,  but  on  a  less 
pretentious  scale  than  was  originally  contemplated.  "The  plan,"  using  the 
words  of  Colbert  and  Chamberlin,  "as  at  first  adopted  was  for  the  canal, 
of  ninety-six  miles  long  from  the  Chicago  river  to  LaSalle,  to  have  its 
highest  level  only  three  feet  above  the  lake,  this  highest  line  extending 
from  Chicago  to  Lockport.  A  part  of  the  work  was  executed  upon  this 
plan.  But  when  operations  were  resumed  it  was  on  the  shallow  principle, 
the  highest  level  being  twelve  feet  above  the  lake;  from  this  level  a  series 
of  fifteen  locks  provided  a  descent  of  one  hundred  and  sixty-six  feet  between 
it  and  LaSalle."  "The  summit,"  says  Honorable  William  Bross,  "was 
supplied  with  water  in  the  Spring  and  wet  seasons,  mainly  from  the  Calu- 
met through  the  'Sag,'  by  damming  the  river  near  Blue  Island.  To 
provide  for  any  deficiency,  pumping  works  of  great  capacity  were  built 
at  Bridgeport,  which,  when  the  supply  from  the  Calumet  failed,  not  only 
furnished  the  canal  with  water,  but  pumping  the  stagnant  liquid  from  the 
river  rendered  it  pure,  for  its  place  was  supplied  from  the  lake. 

"By  1865  the  population  of  Chicago  had  increased  to  one  hundred  and 
seventy-eight  thousand  and  nine  hundred;  the  city  had  inaugurated  and  com- 
pleted an  extensive  system  of  sewers,  most  of  which  emptied  into  the  river. 
For  perhaps  nine  or  ten  months  of  the  year  it  had  no  current,  and  hence  it 
became  the  source  of  the  foulest  smells  that  a  suffering  people  were  ever 
forced  to  endure;  and,  besides,  it  was  evident  that  something  must  be 
done  effectively  to  cleanse  it,  or  the  city  would  soon  become  so  unhealthy 
as  to  be  uninhabitable.  Accordingly,  on  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  of 
February,  1865,  the  legislature  passed  Acts  authorizing  the  city  of  Chicago 
to  lower  the  summit  of  the  canal,  as  originally  proposed,  so  that  the  pure 
waters  of  Lake  Michigan  would  flow  south,  thus  cleansing  the  river  anil 
dispensing  with  the  dam  on  the  Calumet  and  the  pumping  works  at  Bridge- 
port. Authority  was  granted  to  borrow  two  million  dollars  to  do  this 
work,  and  with  Colonel  R.  B.  Mason,  of  this  city,  and  William  Gooding, 
of  Lockport,  added  to  the  Board  of  Public  Works,  the  work  of  lowering 
the  summit  of  the  canal  was  commenced,  and  it  was  completed  June 


jz  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

I5th,  1871.  On  that  day  the  hoisting  of  the  gates  at  Bridgeport  was  made 
known  throughout  the  city  by  the  merry  ringing  of  the  bells,  and  joy 
pervaded  all  circles  and  all  classes  of  citizens.  Thenceforward  Lake 
Michigan  has  contributed  a  portion  of  its  waters  to  the  Illinois  river,  and 
thence  it  has  flowed  on  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico." 

The  Act  of  the  legislature  above  referred  to  was  in  effect  that  the 
canal  lands  yet  remaining  unsold,  and  the  canal  itself,  be  placed  in  the 
hands  of  three  trustees,  two  of  whom  should  be  chosen  by  the  holders  of 
the  canal  bonds,  and  one  by  the  State,  upon  condition  that  the  bondholders 
should  furnish  one  thousand  and  six  hundred  dollars  for  the  completion  of 
the  work.  The  terms  were  accepted,  the  money — which  was  largely 
English  capital — furnished,  and  the  canal  finished  and  opened  for  business 
in  the  Spring  of  1848.  It  has  lost  much  of  its  importance  as  a  highway 
since  Chicago  has  become  a  great  railroad  center,  but  as  a  great  sewer  for  the 
city  its  present  importance  is  vital,  and  for  what  it  did  even  before  its  creation 
to  give  impulse  to  development,  it  must  always  occupy  a  prominent  place 
in  the  early  as  well  as  the  later  history  of  the  city.  The  original  cost  of 
the  canal  was  six  million,  four  hundred  and  nine  thousand,  five  hundred 
and  nine  dollars,  which  was  increased  by  the  city's  expenditures  for  deepen- 
ing to  about  nine  million  dollars. 

Some  mention  has  already  been  made  of  river  and  harbor  improve- 
ments, but  only  the  beginning  of  these  have  as  yet  received  notice.  The 
completion  of  the  canal  made  an  increase  of  docks  a  necessity.  There 
was  a  great  deal  of  dock  building  along  the  main  river,  and  by  1852  there 
were  two  miles  of  wharves.  In  1844  General  George  B.  McClellan  sub- 
mitted plans  for  the  improvement  of  the  harbor,  and  some  work  was  done 
in  accordance  with  them,  but  the  time  and  means  expended  in  doing  it 
were  utterly  wasted.  Outside  of  the  present  breakwater  on  the  south  shore, 
a  line  of  piling  was  driven,  according  to  General  McClellan's  suggestion, 
but  they  were  entirely  powerless  to  prevent  the  waves  from  washing  away 
the  land.  Between  the  years  1844  anc^  J^47  ^e  river  was  considerably 
improved.  South  Water  street  was  set  back  half  a  block,  and  the  bank  of 
the  *jver  sti-aightened  out;  and  in  1847  floating  bridges  were  built  at  Wells, 
Randolph  and  Madison  streets.  In  1849,  however,  all  the  bridges  over 
the  river  were  swept  away  by  a  freshet,  and  better  bridges  were  substituted. 
In  1852  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  began  the  construction  of 
its  breakwater,  along  the  south  shore,  and  completed  it  to  a  distance  of  two 
miles,  at  a  cost  of  three-quarters  of  a  million  dollars.  Considerable  additional 
piling  has  since  been  driven.  It  is,  perhaps,  sufficient  to  say  that  the  river 
has  been  dredg-ed  and  wharfed,  until  it  affords  good  accommodations  for 
the  shipping  and  large  commerce  which  it  receives  from  and  sends  to  the 
great  chain  of  lakes.  In  1863  the  city  limits  were  again  extended,  this  time 
to  include  Bridgeport  and  Holston,  and  embracing  an  area  of  twenty-four 
square  miles.  Building  about  this  time  was  very  extensive,  nearly  five 
millions  of  dollars  being  expended  in  that  direction  in  1864.  The  Chicago 
Gas  Light  and  Coke  Company  had  been  chartered  in  1849,  and  had  the 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  33 

exclusive  right  to  supply  the  city  with  gas  for  ten  years.  The  company 
first  turned  on  the  gas  in  September,  1850,  and  enjoyed  the  monopoly  of 
furnishing  light  down  to  June,  1862,  at  which  time  the  People's- Gas  Light 
and  Coke  Company  began  to  supply  the  West  Division  with  gas,  and  the 
Chicago  Company  was  restricted  to  the  supply  of  the  North  and  South 
Divisions.  The  insufficiency  of  dock  room  was  so  great  that  in  1864,  be- 
sides the  ten  miles  of  wharves,  which  by  this  time  had  been  built,  an  exten- 
sive series  of  slips  on  the  South  Branch  were  dug  out  and  fitted  for  the 
accommodation  of  shipping.  An  artesian  well  was  bored  at  this  date  in 
what  is  now  the  western  part  of  the  city,  and  several  have  since  been 
successfully  opened. 

The  corporate  limits  and  jurisdiction  of  the  city  now  includes  all  of 
the  township  thirty-nine,  north  range  fourteen,  and  all  of  sections  one,  two, 
eleven,  twelve,  thirteen,  fourteen,  twenty-three,  twenty-four,  twenty-five, 
twenty-six,  and  that  portion  of  sections  thirty-five  and  thirty-six  lying  north 
and  west  of  the  center  of  the  Illinois  and  Michigan  canal,  in  range  thirteen, 
east  of  the  third  principal  meridian,  and  that  portion  of  section  thirty  lying 
south  and  west  of  the  center  of  the  North  Branch  of  Chicago  river,  and  all 
of  sections  thirty-one,  thirty-two,  thirty-three,  and  fractional  section  thirty- 
four,  in  township  forty,  north  range  fourteen,  east  of  the  third  principal 
meridian,  together  with  so  much  of  the  waters  and  bed  of  Lake  Michigan 
as  lie  within  one  mile  of  the  shore  thereof,  and  east  of  *the  territory  afore- 
said. The  North  Division  comprises  all  that  portion  of  the  aforesaid 
territory  lying  north  of  the  center  of  the  main  Chicago  river  and  east  of 
the  center  of  the  North  Branch  of  said  river.  The  South  Division  is  all 
that  portion  lying  south  of  the  center  of  the  main  Chicago  river  and  south 
and  east  of  the  center  of  the  South  Branch  of  said  river  and  of  the  Illinois 
and  Michigan  canal.  The  West  Division  embraces  all  that  portion  of  the 
territory  lying  west  of  the  center  of  the  North  and  South  Branches  of  the 
river  and  of  the  Illinois  and  Michigan  canal.  The  city  is  divided  into 
eighteen  wards. 

The  main  chain  of  development  has  thus  been  followed  from  the  city's 
birth  until  the  present.  The  chapter,  however,  contains  only  a  portion  of 
the  events  which  make  the  history  of  the  period.  These  will  be  enumer- 
ated in  the  chapters  that  are  to  follow.  The  record  has  been  one  of  sun- 
shine and  gloom,  but  all  the  shadows  have  been  swallowed  up  by  the  bril- 
liancy of  the  morning  light  in  which  this  chapter  closes. 


34 


WILLIAM   B.  OGDEN. 

William  B.  Ogden,  the  first  Mayor  of  Chicago,  was  born  in  the  town 
of  Walton,  Delaware  county,  New  York,  on  the  fifteenth  of  June, -1805. 
His  father,  Abraham  Ogden,  immediately  after  the  revolutionary  war,  went 
from  New  Jersey  to  the  county  in  which  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was 
born,  where  he  led  an  active  life  until  a  stroke  of  paralysis  impaired  his 
usefulness  in  1820.  Five  years  later  he  died.  The  wife  of  Abraham 
Ogden,  the  mother  of  William  B.,  was  a  daughter  of  James  Weed,  of 
New  Qmaan,  Fairfield  county,  Connecticut. 

It  was  the  early  intention  of  young  Ogden  to  fit  himself  for  the  legal 
profession,  but  the  prostration  of  his  father's  health  interfered,  and  when 
only  sixteen  years  of  age  he  was  compelled  to  leave  school  and  return 
home  to  take  charge  of  his  father's  business.  At  the  age  of  twenty-one 
he  engaged  in  mercantile  business,  but,  although  he  was  fairly  successful 
in  this,  his  spirit  yearned  for  broader  operations  and  larger  gains,  and  in 
1835,  as  noticed  in  the  previous  chapter,  he  arrived  in  Chicago,  having 
previously  made  large  purchases  of  land  here.  Previous  to  leaving  his 
native  State  he  occupied  the  position  of  Postmaster  of  Walton,  and  was 
elected  to  the  legislature  for  one  term. 

At  first  Mr.  Ogden  was  very  successful  in  his  operations  in  his  new 
home,  but  the  panic  of  1837  greatly  crippled  him,  and  it  was  a  struggle 
with  him  for  several  years.  In  1843,  however,  he  had  weathered  the  storm, 
and  henceforth  his  career  was  one  of  unclouded  pi'osperity.  Through  all  his 
financial  troubles  his  life  was  characterized  by  the  most  unbending  honesty. 
When  his  fellow  citizens,  none  of  whom  were  in  much  worse  financial 
plight  than  he  was,  called  a  meeting  in  1837  to  devise  means  to  stay  the 
collection  of  debts,  Mayor  Ogden,  after  some  inflammatory  speaking  had 
been  done,  stepped  forward,  and  begged  the  people  to  conceal  and  not  to 
proclaim  their  misfortune,  and  above  all  things  not  to  tarnish  the  name  of 
the  infant  city.  This  display  of  judgment,  honesty  and  policy  by  the 
Mayor  subdued  the  flames  that  were  ready  to  burst  forth,  and  practical 
repudiation  was  killed. 

Mr.  Ogden  held  many  positions  of  trust,  in  addition  to  that  of  Mayor 
of  Chicago,  prominent  among  which  may  be  noticed  the  following: — 
Presidency  of  Rush  Medical  College;  Presidency  of  the  Galena  and 
Chicago  Union  Railroad  Company;  Presidency  of  the  Chicago  tind  Wis- 
consin Railroad  Company,  and  Presidency  of  the  Chicago  and  North- 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  55 

western  Railway  Company;  and  he  was  several  times  in  the  City  Council. 
The  success  of  his  business  operations  and  the  rise  in  his  real  estate, 
after  his  recovery  from  the  effects  of  the  panic  in  1837,  crystallized  into  an 
immense  fortune.  His  business  interests  in  New  York,  during  the  latter  por- 
tion of  his  life,  demanding  so  much  of  his  attention,  he  purchased  a  beautiful 
villa,  in  the  Spring  of  1866,  at  Fordham  Heights,  New  York,  and  although 
maintaining  the  homestead  at  Chicago,  spent  most  of  his  time  in  absence 
from  the  city.  He  died  August  3d,  1877,  leaving  his  name  stamped  upon 
Chicago  as  a  whole,  and  upon  nearly  every  public  institution  in  particular, 
and  his  memory  is  cherished  as  that  of  a  noble,  enterprising  and  successful 
man,  whose  worth  is  rarely  equaled  and  never  excelled. 


GURDON    S.  HUBBARD. 


Standing  amidst  the  magnificence,  commercial  importance  and  social 
status  of  this  fourth  city  in  the  American  Union,  Gurdon  S.  Hubbard  can 
trace  the  marvelous  development  from  its  very  inception  as  a  part  of  his 
own  personal  experience.  Coming  here  in  1818  he  witnessed  the  planting  of 
the  germ  that  has  opened  into  this  beautiful  flower.  Through  all  the 
sunshine  and  shadows  of  Chicago's  history  his  name,  achievements  and 
sacrifices  are  prominent  as  the  central  figure  on  the  painting;  and  now  in 
the  evening  of  life,  and  as  the  only  remaining  tie  that  links  the  harvest  to 
the  seedtime,  his  reminiscences  and  the  colossal  results  of  the  feeblest  of 
beginnings,  must  play  upon  his  mind  as  the  fancies  of  a  strange  dream. 
But  the  events  of  his  life  are  too  numerous  and  our  space  too  limited  to 
permit  indulgence  in  speculation,  generalities,  or  such  eulogy  as  a  life  like 
his  merits,  and  to  pronounce  which  would  be  the  most  pleasant  of  duties. 
Fortunately  such  a  life  is  its  own  eulogy,  and  the  record  being  one  of 
absorbing  interest,  will  enlist  greater  attention  than  the  warmest  enco- 
miums of  the  biographer  could  possibly  win. 

Gurdon  S.  Hubbard  was  born  in  Windsor,  Vermont,  August  -22d, 
1802,  and  was  the  son  of  JElizur  and  Abigal  Hubbard,  being  the  eldest  of 
six  children.  His  parents  being  in  very  modest  circumstances,  they  were 
unable  to  give  their  children  other  education  than  that  furnished  by  the 
common  schools  of  the  time  and  locality.  When  ten  years  of  age,  how- 
ever, Gurdon  left  home  and  went  to  reside  in  Bridgewater,  Massachusetts, 
where  he  had  the  opportunity  of  attending  a  school  taught  by  the 
Reverend  Daniel  Huntington.  In  the  Spring  of  1815,  he  returned  home, 
and  very  soon  thereafter  the  whole  family  removing  to  Montreal,  he 
entered  the  hardware  store  of  John  Frothingham  of  that  city,  as  a  clerk, 
remaining  in  that  position  until  the  Spring  of  1818,  when  he  entered  the 
service  of  the  American  Fur  Company  under  William  W.  Matthews. 
His  agreement  with  Mr.  Matthews  stipulated  for  a  five  years'  service  at  a 
hundred  and  twenty  dollars  per  year.  In  accordance  with  this  arrangement 
he  left  Montreal,  in  the  company  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-three  em- 
ployees of  the  Fur  Company,  May  I3th,  1818.  The  party  experienced 
difficulties  which  it  is  doubtful  if  even  imagination  can  outline,  and  upon 
reaching  Toronto  forty  or  fifty  of  the  men  deserted.  Young  Hubbard, 
however,  was  not  to  be  conquered  or  dismayed  by  obstacles,  and  his 
regard  for  principle  would,  of  itself,  have  been  sufficient  to  have  prevented 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  37 

him  from  violating  his  contract.  Then,  as  ever  since,  his  conduct  was 
actuated  by  the  most  unswerving  fidelity  to  duty  and  beautified  by  a  con- 
spicuous display  of  honor. 

The  remnant  of  the  party  now  started  out  upon  a  different  route  than 
that  originally  contemplated,  traveling  what  was  known  as  the  Young 
Street  road,  coasting  Lake  Sincoe,  the  southern  extremity,  then  crossing 
by  land  via  Portage  to  Nottoway,  Sanga  river,  and  slowly  pushing  their 
way  along,  reaching  Mackinac  July  4th,  1818.  From  this  point  they 
gradually  crept  southward  to  the  mouth  of  the  Chicago  river,  where 
they  arrived  about  the  first  of  November.  Upon  arriving  at  Chicago  the 
party  made  portage,  drawing  their  boats  across  Mud  Lake  to  Bridgeport, 
and  carrying  their  goods  on  their  backs  to  the  Desplaines  river  which  they 
descended  to  the  junction  of  the  Kankakee,  and  thence  to  the  Illinois  river. 

Mr.  Hubbard  was  detailed  to  the  Trading  Post  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Bureau  river.  It  was  originally  intended  that  he  should  be  permanently 
located  at  Lake  Superior,  but  a  desire  to  be  nearer  his  father  and  only 
brother,  who  he  learned,  upon  his  arrival  in  Chicago,  had  concluded  to 
make  St.  Louis  their  home,  prompted  him  to  request  a  transfer,  which 
request  was  readily  acceded  to.  He  now  became  a  part  of  the  Illinois 
brigade,  under  the  charge  of  Antoine  Deschants,  an  old  trader,  who  had  a 
dozen  boats  plying  on  the  Illinois  river.  The  Bureau  Trading  Post  was 
in  charge  of  a  man  who  was  so  ignorant  that  he  could  neither  read  nor 
write,  and  Mr.  Hubbard  was  compelled  to  keep  the  accounts.  He  was 
allowed,  however,  to  accompany  Mr.  Deschants  to  St.  Louis,  where  he 
met  his  father  and  brother,  and  then  returned  to  his  post  of  duty,  arriving 
about  the  middle  of  November.  This  being  about  the  close  of  naviga- 
tion, little  of  any  business  was  done  after  his  return,  until  the  following 
Spring.  Young  Hubbard,  however,  busied  himself  during  the  Winter, 
in  hunting  and  trapping,  acquiring  a  knowledge  of  the  Indian  language 
and  becoming  acquainted  with  the  peculiarities  of  the  fur  trade. 

We  next  find  Mr.  Hubbard  in  the  fur  store  at  Mackinac,  under  W. 
W.  Wallace.  For  several  years  he  spent  the  Summers  at  this  rendezvous, 
and  the  Winters  in  Illinois.  One  Winter  was  spent  on  the  site  of  the 
present  town  of  Kalamazoo,  where  the  agent  at  Mackinac  was  desirous  of 
having  Mr.  Hubbard  settle  and  take  charge  of  an  outfit.  In  the  Spring, 
however,  he  returned  to  Mackinac  and  superseded  Mr.  Matthews  in  charge 
of  the  fur  store  at  that  place.  The  next  Winter  he  went  to  Muskegon 
where  he  had  charge  of  affairs,  and  the  Winter  following  he  returned  to 
Illinois,  and  took  charge  of  the  outfit  at  Crooked  Creek.  At  the  end  of 
seven  years,  he  superseded  his  former  superior,  Mr.  Deschants,  who  had 
become  too  old  to  perform  the  services  required.  Mr.  Hubbard,  after  one 
more  season's  experience  over  the  old  familiar  route,  resolved  to  seek  out 
a  new  path.  The  Indian  trade  was  rather  in  the  interior  than  on  the 
rivers,  and  the  enterprising  successor  of  Mr.  Deschants  decided  to  abandon 
the  water  lines,  and  substitute  horses  for  boats.  Accordingly  he  purchased 
one  hundred  Indian  horses,  and  loading  them  with  goods,  took  a  course 


38  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

through  an  unbroken  plain,  upon  which  the  eye  of  no  white  man  had  ever 
before  rested,  to  the  interior.  The  path  then  marked  out,  and  afterward 
followed,  became  famous  as  "Hubbard's  Trail."  Two  or  three  trips  a 
season  were  made,  carrying  goods  one  way  and  furs  the  other.  By  1825 
Southern  Illinois  began  to  be  settled  by  pioneers,  and  Mr.  Hubbard  wished 
to  connect  the  trade  in  goods  for  white  customers  with  the  Indian  trade. 
To  this  the  Fur  Company  would  not  consent,  but  offered  to  sell  out  to 
him,  and  he  accepted  the  offer,  thus  closing  his  service  with  the  American 
Fur  Company  which  began  at  a  salary  of  a  hundred  and  twenty  dollars  a 
year  and  ended  when  he  was  receiving  an  annual  salary  of  thirteen  hun- 
dred dollars.  The  growth  of  the  white  population  induced  Mr.  Hubbard 
to  abandon  his  trading  posts  sout.h  of  Danville  in  1827,  b«t  north  of  that 
point  it  continued  for  some  years,  gradually  dying  out,  however,  before 
the  encroachments  of  the  white  trade. 

In  1834  Mr.  Hubbard  removed  from  Danville  to  Chicago  and  settled 
here  permanently.  He  had  already  been  a  member  of  the  legislature  for 
one  term,  had  participated  in  the  Black  Hawk  war,  and  from  early  boy- 
hood to  the  flush  of  manhood  had  proven  himself  equal  to  unusual 
emergencies,  and  ready  to  perform  any  duty  that  might  devolve  upon  him, 
As  a  permanent  resident  of  Chicago,  therefore,  he  was  welcomed  as  a 
valuable  acquisition,  and  his  subsequent  life  of  usefulness  has  demonstrated 
that  his  worth  was  not  overestimated.  Yet  there  were  those  who  thought 
him  visionary,  and  by  way  of  showing  their  superior  wisdom — which, 
however,  time  has  demonstrated  to  have  been  superior  short-sightedness — 
his  brick  store — the  first  brick  building  ever  erected  in  the  place — which 
he  built  on  the  corner  of  LaSalle  and  South  Water  streets,  was  called 
"Hubbard's  Folly."  Little  did  the  authors  of  such  an  indignity  under-" 
stand  the  man  whose  acts  they  were  criticising.  What  to  them  looked 
blank  and  dark,  to  his  keen  perception  opened  as  a  bower  of  beauty  and  a 
Summer's  morning.  They  saw  not  further  than  the  morrow;  he  peered 
into  the  coming  years.  Their  thoughts  were  lazily  flowing  in  the  shadow 
of  Fort  Dearborn;  his  were  reveling  amidst  the  fancied  elegance  of  a 
prosperous  town,  if  not  that  of  a  great  city. 

Mr.  Hubbard  now  went  into  the  forwarding  business,  keeping  a  large 
stock  of  goods,  and  becoming  at  once  a  leading  citizen.  During  the  second 
year  of  his  residence  here  he  was  appointed  one  of  the  Commissioners  of 
the  Illinois  and  Michigan  canal.  He  was  one  of  the  first  organizers  of  the 
system  of  large  vessels  to  ply  between  this  city  and  Buffalo,  and  had  a 
large  interest  in  the  lake  shipping. 

Retiring  from  mercantile  trade  in  1836,  he  still  continued  actively 
engaged  in  other  kinds  of  business,  and  when  the  panic  of  1837  came>  like 
others  whose  business  was  extensive,  he  was  prostrated.  But  he  had  been 
successful  in  too  many  conflicts  now  to  be  overcome.  In  1840  he  engaged 
in  the  packing  business,  which  he  successfully  conducted  until  1869,  when 
he  was  burned  out;  and  to  him  belongs  the  honor  of  being  the  pioneer 
packer  in  the  city  of  Chicago. 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS   DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 


39 


In  1830  Mr.  Hubbard  married  Elmira  Berry,  daughter  of  Judge  Be.Ty, 
of  Urbana,  Ohio,  and  who  was  a  most  estimable  lady.  She  died  in  1838. 
Gurdon  S.  Hubbard,  Jr.,  a  substantial  businessman  of  the  city,  is  the  only 
surviving  child.  He  was  born  February  22d,  1838. 

Such,  in  brief  outline,  has  been  the  busy  and  useful  life  of  Gurdon  S. 
Hubbard.  At  the  age  of  seventy-eight  years,  but  looking  much  younger, 
his  memories  are  more  numerous,  varied,  and  interesting  than  are  usually 
crowded  into  the  space  of  two  long  lifetimes.  Still  in  the  enjoyment  of 
health  and  of  remarkable  vigor,  there  is  abundant  reason  to  believe  that  he 
will  live  many  years  to  receive  the  grateful  acknowledgments  of  poster- 
ity for  what  he  has  done  for  Chicago,  and  to  enjoy  the  universal  respect 
in  which  he  is  held  by  the  community. 


PHILO  CARPENTER. 

Perhaps  the  most  delicate  and  difficult  duty  which  the  biographer  has 
to  perform,  is  to  paint  the  picture  of  a  life,  which  is  as  a  morning  sunbeam 
that  carries  life  and  gladness  into  gloomy  caverns  and  places  of  desolation 
of  which  the  world  knows  nothing.  What  men  'see  of  such  a  life  is  charm- 
ing and  elevating  to  a  degree  that  the  imperfections  of  the  race  are  almost 
shadowed  into  forgetfulness,  and  yet,  brilliant  as  is  the  exterior,  there  is  a 
still  more  beautiful  inwardness,  which  is  securely  hidden  from  the  common 
gaze.  In  a  life  which  has  been  distinguished  for  its  consecration  to  the  pro- 
gress of  the  world  and  the  alleviation  of  human  suffering,  there  is  the 
private  record  of  kind  words  spoken,  of  gentle  sympathy  bestowed  and 
of  acts  done,  which  are  never  confided  to  even  the  most  intimate. 

In  sketching  the  life  of  Philo  Carpenter  we  are  met  with  difficulties 
of  this  character,  and  however  graphically  that  portion  which  is  not  con- 
cealed might  be  portrayed,  there  would  be  the  feeling  that  merit  still  lay 
beyond,  untouched  and  unfortunately  untouchable.  Happily  there  is  always 
enough  of  interest  and  example,  lying  upon  the  surface  of  such  lives,  to 
make  them  not  only  thrillingly  entertaining  but  incalculably  valuable 
to  the  world. 

Philo  Carpenter  is  of  New  England  origin,  having  been  born  at 
Savoy,  Berkshire  county,  Massachusetts,  February  2yth,  1805,  and  edu- 
cated in  the  common  schools,  and  at  the  Academy  at  South  Adams,  in  his 
native  State.  Until  he  obtained  his  majority  he  remained  at  home, 
under  the  influence  of  New  England  surroundings,  to  which,  no  doubt, 
may  be  attributed  much  of  his  sterling  worth  of  character.  It  would, 
however,  be  unsafe  and  untenable  to  assume  that  New  England  is  entitled 
to  the  credit  of  laying  the  entire  foundation  of  a  life  which  has  been  marked 
by  such  excellent  characteristics  of  head  and  heart.  Although  doubtless 
much  indebted  to  training,  Mr.  Carpenter  has  been  richly  blessed  with 
inheritance.  His  father,  Abel  Carpenter,  was  the  son  of  Nathaniel  Carpen- 
ter, whose  love  of  justice  and  admiration  for  right,  prompted  his  resignation 
of  a  captaincy  in  the  British  army,  at  the  outbreak  of  the  revolutionary 
War,  and  led  him  into  the  military  service  of  the  Colonies,  in  which  he  was 
a  faithful  officer  to  the  end,  being  at  the  close  of  the  conflict  in  command  at 
West  Point.  It  scarcely  need  be  suggested  that  this  sacrifice  of  position 
and  emolument  for  the  privilege  of  engaging  in  what  was  anything  but  a 
hopeful  conflict,  and  in  courting  a  possible  ignominious  death,  indicates  the 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS   DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  41 

source  from  which  the  subject  of  our  sketch  inherited  the  courage  which 
he  has  always  shown  in  the  advocacy  and  defense  of  principle.  Fortunate 
is  the  man  who  can  boast  of  such  an  ancestry. 

In  1828  Mr.  Carpenter,  with  his  wealth  of  early  training,  rich  natural 
endowments,  and  aspirations  to  reach  position,  left  his  home  and  went  to 
Troy,  New  York.  Here  he  became  a  clerk  in  the  drug  store  of  Dr. 
Amatus  Robbins,  and  a  student  in  medicine.  Later  he  was  a  partner  of 
Dr.  Robbins  in  the  drug  business,  and  was  pleasantly  and  prosperously 
situated.  Probably  Chicago  would  never  have  been  blessed  with  his 
influence  and  enterprise  had  it  not  been  for  a  romantic  friend  who  in  his 
travels  had  visited  the  settlement,  and  returning,  gave  Mr.  Carpenter  a  most 
glowing  description  of  the  probable  future  importance  of  the  place.  The 
description  and  prophecy  of  his  friend  decided  him  to  emigrate  to  the 
West.  Boxing  up  his  stock  of  drugs  he  started  for  Buffalo,  where  he  em- 
barked in  the  steamer  Enterprise,  under  command  of  Captain  Walker, 
for  Detroit.  Upon  arriving  there,  he  took  passage  in  the  wagon  which 
carried  the  weekly  mail  to  Niles,  Michigan,  and  from  there  floated,  with  a 
friend,  down  the  St.  Joe  river  to  its  mouth  upon  a  lighter.  It  was  not 
expected  that  it  would  be  difficult,  after  reaching  this  point,  to  get  to  Chi- 
cago by  means  of  the  occasional  vessel  communication  with  Fort  Dearborn  5 
but  the  cholera  was  at  the  time  raging  among  the  soldiers  at  the  fort,  and 
all  communication  had  been  suspended.  Under  such  circumstances,  Mr. 
Carpenter  and  his  friend  hired  two  Indians  to  take  them  around  the  head 
of  the  lake,  and  the  two  emigrants  succeeded  in  landing  in  the  month  of 
July,  1832,  near  the  present  site  of  Douglas  monument.  From  here  they 
were  conveyed  in  an  ox  team  by  Joel  Ellis — whom  they  found  living  in 
a.  log  cabin  near  the  place — to  Fort  Dearborn. 

Mr.  Carpenter  was  now  where  was  to  be  his  new  and  permanent  home. 
Not  more  than  two  hundred  people  were  outside  the  fort,  and  these  were 
mostly  half  breeds.  Precisely  what  our  subject  thought  or  felt  upon  this 
introduction,  may  never  be  known  except  to  himself,  and  probably  never 
will  be.  It  was  a  startlingly  weird  scene  to  a  man  of  his  birth  and  rearing, 
and  but  for  dauntless  courage  and  keen  perception  he  never  would  have 
remained. 

During  the  few  weeks  that  he  was  waiting  for  his  goods,  however,  he 
calmly  studied  the  whole  situation,  and,  with  the  foresight  that  has 
distinguished  him  since,  decided  that  Chicago  had  a  brilliant  future  in 
store.  Accordingly  he  secured  a  log  building  on  Lake  street,  near  the 
river,  and  opened  the  first  drug  store  in  Chicago.  He  removed  from  this 
location  in  the  early  Winter  to  more  commodious  quarters,  but  remained  in 
them  only  until  the  following  Summer,  when  he  built  and  occupied  a  store 
on  South  Water  street,  between  LaSalle  street  and  Fifth  avenue.  Here 
he  added  to  his  stock,  salt,  sugar,  hardware,  and  other  staples,  and  his  store 
became  the  center  of  attraction  to  a  large  section  of  the  surrounding  country. 
From  this  store  he  removed,  in  1842,  to  one  on  Lake  street,  which  he 
•occupied  for  some  years,  and  then  disposed  of  his  mercantile  business. 


42  CHICAGO  AND  ITS   DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

Mr.  Carpenter  has  been,  and  is  now,  a  large  real  estate  owner  in  the 
city,  and  has  been  fortunate  in  his  investments  in  this  line;  but  his  success 
has  been  the  result  of  a  firm  regard  for  the  principle  that  debt  is  an  evil. 
He  invested  his  spare  funds  in  lots,  but  never  involved  himself  beyond  his 
ability,  under  all  circumstances,  to  satisfy  his  creditors,  and  leave  himself  a 
handsome  margin.  Besides  the  purchase  of  private  property,  he  entered 
from  the  government  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  in  the  West  Division, 
and  was  laughed  at  for  locating  a  farm  so  far  from  the  city.  That  farm  has 
since  been  known  as  "Carpenter's  Addition  to  Chicago,"  and  is  now 
bounded  by  Halsted,  Madison  and  Kinzie  streets  and  by  a  line  running 
from  Kinzie  street  midway  between  Ann  and  Elizabeth  streets  to  Madison. 
Much  of  this  property  has  passed  from  the  hands  of  Mr.  Carpenter,  but  he 
is  still  the  owner  of  considerable  valuable  real  estate. 

During  all  his  useful  life  in  Chicago  Mr.  Carpenter  has  been  a  warm 
and  active  friend  of  education  and  religion.  On  the  nineteenth  of  August, 
1832,  he  organized  the  first  Sunday  school  ever  founded  in  Chicago, 
with  thirteen  children  and  five  adults.  This  school  is  now  represented 
by  the  home  Sabbath  school  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  and 
is  one  of  the  monuments  which  will  commemorate  the  name  of  Philo 
Carpenter.  In  1832  his  interest  in  education,  as  well  as  his  sound  judg- 
ment, was  manifested  in  his  opposition  to  the  proposed  sale  of  the  entire 
School  Section,  bounded  by  State,  Madison,  Halsted  and  Twelfth  streets. 
Against  his  protest,  however,  one  hundred  and  thirty-eight  blocks  were 
sold  for  thirty-eight  thousand  and  sixty-five  dollars.  Four  blocks  remained, 
and  they  are  now  worth  several  million  dollars.  What  his  advice,  if  it 
had  been  followed,  would  have  been  worth  to  Chicago  and  education, 
can  readily  be  estimated.  For  many  years  he  was  an  active  member  of  the 
Board  of  Education,  from  which  he  retired  in  1865,  and  in  recognition  of 
his  valuable  services,  one  of  Chicago's  elegant  school  structures  was  named 
the  Carpenter  School. 

Mr.  Carpenter  was  a  fearless  opponent  of  human  slavery  while  that 
institution  existed  in  this  Republic,  and  never  hesitated  to  aid  a  slave  to 
escape  from  bondage.  When  to  be  an  abolitionist  was  to  be  considered  an 
enemy  to  the  best  interests  of  the  nation,  his  love  of  freedom  and  humanity, 
and  his  correct  conception  of  what  a  patriot's  duty  to  his  country  was, 
emboldened  him  to  devote  much  of  his  time  and  to  expend  his  money  to 
mak<^  the  American  Republic  what  it  purported  to  be,  a  land  of  universal 
freedom.  But  he  paid  the  penalty  for  his  boldness  in  the  advocacy  of  right, 
in  various  ways.  Even  the  hand  of  the  church,  which  should  always  be  deli- 
cate, became  harsh  as  it  touched  the  anti-slavery  advocate.  Mr.  Carpenter- 
was  one  of  the  originators  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  and  one  of  its 
first  elders.  Afterward  he  connected  himself  with  the  Third  Presbyterian 
Church,  and  while  here  he  experienced  treatment,  which,  since  his  anti- 
slavery  views  have  been  acknowledged  as  correct  by  the  nation,  Presbyteri- 
ans, no  doubt,  heartily  wish  had  never  been  given.  The  General  Assembly 
had  been  dealing  with  the  slavery  question  in  a  very  equivocal  manner,  anJ 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 


43 


Mr.  Carpenter's  church  becoming  wearied  of  its  vacillating  policy,  resolved 
in  1851  that  "God  hath  made  of  one  blood  all  nations  of  the  earth;  that 
chattel  slavery  is  blasphemous  toward  God  and  inhuman  and  cruel  to  our 
fellow  men ;  that  this  church  is  dissatisfied  with  the  position  of  our  General 
Assembly  on  the  subject  of  disciplining  those  guilty  of  holding  our  fellow 
men  in  bondage,  and  that  this  church,  so  long  as  this  vacillating  policy  is 
pursued,  hereby  declare  their  determination  to  stand  aloof  from  all  meet- 
ings of  the  Presbytery,  Synod  and  Assembly."  This  action  brought  down 
upon  the  heads  of  those  who  voted  for  the  adoption  of  the  resolutions  the 
wrath  of  the  Presbytery,  which  voted  that  they  had  disqualified  themselves 
to  act  as  members  of  a  Presbyterian  Church.  Thereupon  Mr.  Carpenter 
and  others  organized  the  First  Congregational  Church,  which  now  worships 
in  the  beautiful  structure  at  the  corner  of  Ann  and  Washington  streets. 
The  Congregational  denomination  is  much  indebted  to  the  subject  of  our 
sketch,  who  has  contributed  over  fifty  thousand  dollars  to  its  Chicago 
Theological  Seminary,  besides  his  munificent  gifts  to  his  own  church. 

In  addition  to  these  brilliant  features  of  his  life  Mr.  Carpenter  has 
always  been  a  firm  friend  of  temperance,  and  in  1832  wrote  and  circulated  the 
first  total  abstinence  pledge  in  Chicago.  But  while  laboring  to  advance 
the  temperance  movement,  he  has  always  been  a  firm  opponent  of  the  secret 
societies  which  have  been  organized  in  the  name  of  that  worthy  cause. 
Indeed  he  is  opposed  to  all  secret  societies,  and  has  fought  them  all  through 
his  life,  expending  a  great  deal  of  money  in  the  endeavor  to  break  their 
influence. 

Mr.  Carpenter  has  been  twice  married.  His  first  wife  was  Sarah  F. 
Bridges,  whom  he  married  in  May,  1830.  She  died  in  the  following 
November.  His  second  wife  was  Ann  Thompson,  of  Saratoga  county, 
New  York,  to  whom  he  was  married  in  April,  1834.  She  died  in  1866. 
Of  four  children,  three  daughters,  Mrs.  W.  W.  Cheney,  Mrs.  W.  W. 
Strong  and  Mrs.  Edward  Hildreth  are  living  and  reside  in  Chicago. 
A  son,  Theodore  Carpenter,  died  in  1869,  in  the  twenty-fourth  year  of 
his  age. 

We  thus  close  this  brief  sketch  of  a  life  which  has  been  signally 
eventful,  and  which  has  been  distinguished  by  the  finest  traits  of  human 
character.  Philo  Carpenter,  in  his  advanced  years,  is  a  monument  to  the 
worth  of  human  life,  and  a  pattern  for  the  rising  generation  to  imitate. 
As  long  as  Chicago  shall  have  an  existence,  the  name  of  Mr.  Carpenter 
will  shine  in  the  brightest  of  its  history. 


44 


JOHN  M.  VAN  OSDEL. 

The  character  of  the  representative  American  is  always  a  fruitful  and 
entertaining  study.     It  is  the  picture  of  genius,  enterprise  and  expedients, 
ceaselessly  operating  amidst  difficulties   and   against  formidable  obstacles, 
toward  the  successful  accomplishment   of  most   wonderful    results.      The 
development  within  a  century  of  one  of  the  most  powerful  nations  in   the 
world;  with  deserts  blooming  with  flowers;  prairies  and  marshes  golden 
with  the  harvest;  cities  whose  architecture  is  as  beautiful  as  those  ancient 
piles   of  granite   splendor   of  which   the  historian   delights   to  write   and 
the  poet  sing;  railroads  spanning  the   rivers   and   scaling   the   mountains; 
the   telegraph  flashing   living   thought   into  every   hamlet  and   over  the 
ocean's  bed;  and  a  government  whose  foundation  is  liberty,  equality,  intel- 
ligence and   virtue,  such  a  nation  is  a  proud    monument  to   the   worth  of 
individual  American  character.     Our  marvelous  progress  as  a  nation  is  the 
outgrowth    of   marvelous    individual    character.      Yet   even   here,   as    in 
the  world  at  large,  individual  failures  are  more  numerous  than  individual 
successes.      Where   one  achieves   distinction  a  thousand   live  and  die  un- 
known; where  one  leaves  a  fadeless  impress  of  his  genius  upon  the  world, 
a  vast  multitude  touch  the  earth  like  a  zephyr  and  subside  into   oblivion. 
From  the  beginning  of  the  world  until  the  present  men  distinguished  in 
any  of  the  walks  of  life,  have  not  been  so  numerous  that  any  of  them  have 
been    lost   sight  of,  or  escaped   the   pen  of*  the  biographer.      Worth  of 
character    and    the  brilliancy   of  genius   never  pass   unacknowledged  or 
uncotnmemorated;  and  while  the  fame  of  John  M.  Van  Osdel,  the  pioneer 
and   distinguished   architect   of  Chicago,  does  not  depend   for  perpetuity 
upon   anything   that  may  here  be  written,  as  a  type  of  the  zeal,  industry 
and  ability  which  has  made  Chicago  and  the  Republic,  and  to  satisfy  the 
reasonably   anticipated   desire  of  posterity  to   read  of  the   men   who  have 
left  their  mark  upon  this  almost  miraculous  metropolis,  in  every  work  that 
refers  to  its  rise  and  progress,  to  sketch  Mr.  Van  Osdel's  life  is  irresistible 
as  a  pleasure,  and  imperative  as  a  duty.      As   an   architect   whose  genius 
has  planned  some  of  the  most  beautiful  of  our  structures,  and  whose  light 
has  been  reflected  in  the  architecture  of  the  city  since  1836,  his  own  mind 
and  hands  have  erected  more  substantial  and  commanding  monuments  to 
a  claim  to  distinction,  than  any  language  can  erect  upon  the  page  of  written 
history. 

Mr.  Van  Osdel  is  a  native  of  Maryland,  having  been   born    in  Balti- 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  45 

more  July  3ist,  1811.  His  father,  James  H.  Van  Osdel,  was  a  carpenter, 
and  to  this  circumstance,  together  with  the  school  of  instruction  which  it 
afforded  for  the  development  of  his  naturally  mechanical  turn  of  mind, 
Mr.  Van  Osdel  doubtless  owes  much  of  his  success  as  a  professional  archi- 
tect. But  this  description  of  immediate  ancestry — so  honorable  in  a 
country  where  merit  is  the  only  recognized  title  to  distinction — would 
convey  the  impression  of  humble*  origin  to  those  who  are  fascinated  by  the 
glitter  of  titled  position  in  the  old  world.  But  the  direct  line  of  ancestry 
of  the  Van  Osdel  family  traces  back  through  two  and  a  quarter  centuries 
in  our  own  country,  and  for  more  than  six  hundred  and  fifty  years  in 
Holland.  The  family  derive  their  origin  from  Jan  Van  Arsdale,  Knight 
of  Holland,  who  in  1211  erected  the  castle  Arsdale,  from  which  he  took 
his  name.  From  him  descended  Lyman  Jansan  Van  Arsdalen — as  he 
subscribed  himself — who  emigrated  to  the  State  of  New  York  in  1653, 
and  he  was  the  founder  of  all  the  Van  Arsdales  and  Van  Osdels  in 
America.  He  died  in  1710,  leaving  two  sons,  Cornelius  and  John,  and 
from  the  latter  our  own  Mr.  Van  Osdel  is  descended. 

The  subject  of  our  sketch  was  the  eldest  of  eight  children,  whose 
support,  when  he  was  only  fourteen  years  of  age,  through  unavoidable 
circumstances,  devolved  upon  his  mother.  In  the  Spring  of  1825  his  father 
went  to  New  York — leaving  the  family  in  Baltimore — to  engage  in  the 
business  of  building.  After,  a  time  he  was  disabled  by  an  accident,  and 
remittances  for  the  support  of  the  family  ceased.  The  mother  had  not 
long  toiled  to  feed  and  clothe  the  children  before  John,  young  as  he  was, 
comprehended  the  situation,  and  with  the  industry  and  enterprise  which 
has  since  distinguished  him  as  a  citizen  of  Chicago,  undertook  the  support 
of  the  family.  He  purchased  a  pine  board,  and  from  it  manufactured 
stools,  which  he  peddled  among  the  neighbors.  With  the  profits  he 
purchased  more  material  and  repeated  the  sales,  realizing  a  handsome  per 
cent,  above  the  cost  of  his  products.  Such  a  boy  was  destined  to  become 
a  man  that  the  world  would  honor;  and  he  was  pre-eminently  the  material 
that  the  future  Chicago  would  require  to  make  it  the  elegant  result  of 
little  more  than  forty  years'  effort. 

Upon  the  recovery  of  the  father  the  family  removed  to  New  York, 
and  our  subject  began  to  work  regularly,  under  his  father,  at  the  business 
of  carpentry.  His  spare  moments  he  devoted  to  reading  books  in  the 
Apprentice's  Library  of  that  city,  devoting  himself  almost  exclusively  to 
books  on  architecture,  copying  their  designs,  and  thus  becoming  proficient 
in  drawing.  When  seventeen  his  mother  died,  and  the  family  was  broken 
up.  He  now  secured  his  release  from  obligation  to  his  father,  and  soon 
returned  to  Baltimore,  where  he  engaged  in  the  business  of  architect  and 
builder.  In  1836  he  returned  to  New  York,  and  formed  the  acquaintance 
of  William  B.  Ogden,  who  induced  him  to  remove  to  Chicago.  Upon 
his  arrival  here  he  was  first  employed  by  Mr.  Ogden  as  a  master  builder, 
but  his  marked  architectural  ability  soon  induced  Mr.  Ogden  to  impose 
upon  him  the  responsibilities  of  an  architect,  and  as  such  he  designed  the 


46  CHICAGO  AND  ITS   DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

most  beautiful  residence  for  Mr.  O^den,  on  Ontario  street,  that  for  a  long 
time  graced  the  city. 

Although  enjoying  as  flattering  a  patronage,  as  an  architect,  as  he 
could  desire,  the  failing  health  of  his  wife — whose  maiden  name  was 
Gailer,  and  whom  he  married  at  Hudson,  New  York,  in  1832— induced 
him,  in  the  Autumn  of  1840,  to  return  to  New  York.  While  in  New 
York  he  was  an  associate  editor  of  a  journal  which  is  now  known  as  the 
SCIENTIFIC  AMERICAN,  and  which  he  helped  to  establish  by  careful  wrork 
and  mechanical  attainments.  In  1841,  however,  he  returned  to  Chicago, 
and  has  since  been  uninterruptedly  .connected  with  its  prosperity  or  its 
adversity.  In  1843  ne  engage(l  m  the  iron  foundry  business,  in  which 
he  continued  until  1845,  when  the  death  of  his  wife,  and  his  own  impaired 
health  operated  to  turn  him  from  this  business  into  his  original  profession 
of  a  designing  architect.  His  masterly  skill  was  rewarded  by  an  income 
of  thirty- two  thousand  dollars  for  three  years'  service.  Mr.  Van  Osdel, 
since  that  early  date  in  Chicago's  history,  has  designed  not  only  some  of 
the  finest  buildings  in  the  city,  but  also  in  the  State.  .  The  most  elegant 
of  private  i-esidences — such,  for  instance,  as  that  known  as  the  Schuttler 
residence,  on  the  corner  of  Adams  and  Aberdeen  streets — and  a  good  pro- 
portion of  our  finest  business  houses,  not  noting  our  public  buildings 
previous  to  the  fire  of  1871,  were  designed  by  him. 

After  the  great  fire  the  services  of  Mr.  Van  Osdel  were  in  such  de- 
mand that  it  was  impossible  for  him,  even  with  his  large  corps  of  assist- 
ants, to  accept  all  the  business  that  was  offered.  During  the  two  following 
years  he  designed  and  superintended  the  erection  of  business  blocks,  aggre- 
gating a  frontage  of  eight  thousand  feet,  including  twenty-five  corner 
buildings,  among  which  were  the  Tremont  House,  Reaper  Block,  D.  B. 
Fisk  &  Company's  store,  the  Drake  Block,  etc.  Such  exhaustive  applica- 
tion to  professional  duties,  were  too  much  even  for  his  robust  constitution, 
and  his  health  gave  way  in  the  Spring  of  1874,  necessitating  a  season  of 
rest.  To  seek  this  he  visited  Europe  in  company  witjj  his  wife  and  two 
adopted  daughters.  Returning  home  in  the  Spring  of  1875,  with  health 
restored,  he  resumed  the  practice  of  his  profession  with  renewed  activity. 

Our  subject  was  married  a  second  time  to  Martha  McClellan,  the 
daughter  of  James  McClellan,  of  Kendall  county,  Illinois.  His  domestic 
and  professional  life  has  always  been  as  a  voyage  upon  the  surface  of  a 
placid  water.  With  an  abundance  of  means,  which  have  been  wholly 
accumulated  through  his  own  efforts,  he  has  always  been  one  of  the  most 
liberal  and  kind  hearted  men  in  the  community.  Without  ostentatious 
display,  his  charities  have  been  large  and  numerous,  and  what  is  still  better, 
dispensed  in  such  a  delicate  manner  that  they  have  usually  been  devoid  of 
the  appearance  of  charity.  His  aim  has  simply  been  to  use  his  fortune  to 
make  mankind  happier.  Relatives  who  have  been  less  fortunate  than  he, 
have  often  been  the  recipients  of  his  bounty ;  but  the  very  brightest  page 
in  his  biography,  perhaps,  is  that  which  records  the  adoption  of  four 
children,  three  girls  and  one  boy.  Without  children  of  his  own,  he 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  47 

adopted  this  course  that  others  might  be  benefited  by  his  fortune.  The 
boy  died,  but  the  three  girls  have  developed  into  beautiful  and  accom- 
plished women,  who  are  the  pride  of  their  father.  Some  twelve  years 
since  one  was  married  to  J.  A.  Schafer,  and  received  from  Mr.  Van  Osdel 
a  house  worth  six  thousand  dollars.  Although  seventy  years  old,  Mr. 
Van  Osdel's  step  is  as  elastic  as  that  of  a  man  of  forty;  his  eye  is  }'et 
undimmed  by  the  years,  and  he  still  prosecutes  with  vigor  the  business  of 
which  he  has  been  so  long  master. 


WILLARD  FRANKLIN   MYRICK. 


Willard  Franklin  Myrick,  the  seventh  of  a  family  of  eleven  children 
born  to  Zenas  and  Eunice  Myrick,  was  born  at  Addison,  Addison  county, 
in  the  State  of  Vermont,  on  the  eleventh  day  of  July,  1809.  At  the  close 
,  of  the  last  century  many  of  the  industrious  and  enterprising  farmers  in 
the  State  of  Connecticut  thought  folks  were  getting  crowded  in  that  land 
of  steady  habits,  and  pushed  off  into  the  State  of  Vermont.  Zenas 
Myrick  was  of  the  number;  on  the  shores  of  the  beautiful  Champlain, 
a  short  distance  from  the  historic  grounds  of  Ticonderoga  and  Crown 
Point  he  settled,  and  here  the  subject  of  our  sketch  was  born. 

Zenas  Myrick  was  not  lacking  in  the  spirit  of  the  Green  Mountain  boys 
of  '76,  and  of  old  Put.  of  his  native  State,  for  on  the  call  for  volunteers 
in  the  war  of  1812,  he  shouldered  his  musket,  was  enrolled  in  the  ranks 
of  his  countrymen  and  participated  in  the  memorable  battle  of  Plattsburg. 

Here,  on  the  banks  of  this  beautiful  lake,  amid  the  scenes  of  so  many 
stirring  incidents  of  our  Revolutionary  struggle,  and  in  daily  contact  with 
many  who  had  borne  part  therein,  the  son  passed  his  boyhood.  At  the 
age  of  twenty-two,  with  a  good  common  school  education,  and  plenty 
of  nerve,  industry  and  enterprise,  and  little  else,  he  started  out  for  him- 
self. He  first  located  at  London,  Canada,  where  he  remained  five  years. 
In  September,  1836,  he  started  on  horseback  for  Illinois,  crossing  the 
Detroit  river  at  Detroit,  and  traversing  Southern  Michigan,  he  arrived  at 
Chicago  the  following  October.  At  that  time  Chicago  was  a  village  of 
a  few  hundred  inhabitants,  but  even  at  that  early  day  it  was  a  point  in  the 
great  West.  Here  he  remained  for  a  few  weeks,  and  then  went  down 
on  the  Illinois  river  below  Joliet,  where  he  remained  until  the  next  Spring, 
when  he  returned  to  Chicago. 

Shortly  after  his  return,  he  bought  what  was  called  a  squatter's  claim 
to  a  tract  of  land  which,  according  to  present  divisions  of  the  city,  is 
bounded  on  the  north  by  Twenty-sixth  street,  on  the  west  by  South  Park 
avenue,  on  the  south  by  Thirty-first  street,  and  on  the  east  by  Lake 
Michigan.  This  was  what  was  then  known  as  canal  property;  there 
was  a  two  story  dwelling  thereon,  situated  near  the  lake  and  just  south 
of  what  is  now  Twenty-ninth  street,  which  was  kept  as  a  hotel,'  and 
known  as  the  Empire  House.  A  portion  of  this  old  building  is  now 
standing  on  Cottage  Grove  avenue,  nearly  opposite  Hahnemann  College. 
The  Empire  House  was  much  frequented  by  farmers  and  drovers  from 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  49 

that  portion  of  Illinois  and  Indiana  lying  south  and  southwest  of  Lake 
Michigan.  Mr.  My  rick  purchased  this  property  from  the  canal  trustees 
as  soon  as  it  was  offered  for  sale,  and  has  ever  since  resided  thereon. 

On  the  tenth  day  of  July,  1839,  he  was  married  at  Chicago  to  Jane 
Hill,  his  present  wife,  and  shortly  thereafter  they  moved  into  the  hotel, 
changed  its  name  to  that  of  Myrick  House,  and  kept  the  hotel  for  the 
next  fifteen  years.  In  1854  Mr.  Myrick  built  the  house  where  he  has 
since  resided,  at  the  corner  of  Thirtieth  street  and  Vernon  avenue. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Myrick  recall  with  pleasurable  interest  their  early  life 
in  the  old  hotel  on  the  lake  shore.  Probably  greater  changes  have  never 
been  witnessed  in  a  single  lifetime  than  has  passed  before  them.  When 
they  took  up  their  residence  in  the  hotel,  the  road  thence  to  the  village 
of  Chicago  ran  at  random  along  the  lake  shore;  the  country  north  and 
west  was  an  open  prairie;  the  nearest  house  on  the  north  was  the  residence 
of  H§nry  B.  Clark,  on  Michigan  avenue,  between  Sixteenth  and  Eighteenth 
streets,  which  was  removed  to  make  room  for  St.  Paul's  church;  there 
was  only  one  other  house  south  of  VanBuren  street.  On  the  west  there 
were  no  houses  east  of  what  is  now  called  Bridgeport;  here  some  shanties 
were  located  on  the  bank  of  the  south  branch  of  Chicago  river.  It  was 
no  uncommon  circumstance  for  persons  starting  from  the  village  of  Chicago 
for  the  Myrick  House  on  dark  nights,  to  get  lost  on  the  prairie;  even  Mr. 
Myrick  himself  sometimes  with  difficulty  found  his  own  home,  when 
coming  from  the  village.  After  some  such  experiences,  his  wife  was 
careful  to  put  a  bright  light  in  an  upper  window  when  he  was  absent  on 
cloudy  nights. 

In  those  early  days  operas,  theatei's,  fashionable  receptions,  calcium 
lights  and  modern  fashionable  frippery  were  not  greatly  in  vogue,  but 
the  round  of  a  Winter's  gayety  consisted  in  old  fashioned  tea  parties  and 
countiy  balls,  where  they  danced  old  fashioned  dances,  ate  old  fashioned 
doughnuts  and  mince  pies,  and  had  a  jolly  time  generally. 

The  Ten  Mile  House,  a  large,  rambling  wooden  building  on  the 
Vincennes  road,  kept  by  John  Smith,  was  for  many  years  a  favorite  resort 
for  dancing  and  sleighing  parties,  and  has  probably  witnessed  as  much 
thorough  enjoyment  as  any  building  in  or  near  Chicago.  Here  Ike  Cook, 
Frank  Sherman,  the  founder  of  the  Sherman  House,  Asher  Rossiter  and 
very  many  of  the  older  citizens  of  Chicago  still  living,  have  had  many 
a  gay  frolic. 

In  those  days  the  telegraph  was  not;  Chicago  was  not  then  lorded 
over  by  what  have  been  called  "  blanket  dailies,"  and  hotels  and  stores 
formed  the  places  of  exchange,  where  the  wise  and  otherwise,  the  new 
comer  and  the  old  inhabitant  exchanged  their  ideas,  or  as  a  modern 
reporter  would  say,  "swapped  lies." 

Mr.  Myrick  relates  with  great  gusto  one  affair  which  made  quite 
a  little  stir  at  the  time.  In  the  office  of  the  Myrick  House  some  one 
broached  it  as  a  strange  fact  that  a  live  fish  placed  in  a  tub  of  water  would 
not  increase  the  weight  of  the  tub  of  water.  Mr.  Myrick  pronounced 


^o  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

this  absurd  and  offered  to  wager  ten  to  one  that  it  was  not  so.  He  was 
taken  up,  and  a  bet  of  one  hundred  dollars  to  ten  made  on  the  spot.  The 
discussion  was  lively,  outsiders  were  consulted  by  the  advocates  of  the 
original  proposition,  others  took  up  the  notion  and  bet  their  money,  until 
finally  Mr.  Myrick  had  wagered  twenty-five  hundred  dollars  against  one- 
tenth  of  that  sum,  that  the  original  statement  was  not  correct.  It  was 
proposed  to  decide  the  matter  by  an  actual  test.  Accordingly  a  live  fish 
weighing  some  four  or  five  pounds  was  caught  in  the  Calumet  river; 
a  procession  was  formed  headed  by  a  brass  band,  and  the  fish  in  this  man- 
ner was  carefully  transported  to  the  Myrick  House,  where  with  due  care 
the  test  was  made.  Of  course  Mr.  Myrick  won  the  money,  which  was 
paid  over  amid  the  shouts  and  laughter  of  the  bystanders. 

Mr.  Myrick  has  always  been  fond  of  good  horses,  and  to-day  enjoys 
nothing  better  than  a  brush  on  the  road,  in  which  amusement  he  is  gener- 
ally successful,  even  in  a  city  possessing  as  many  fast  trotters  as  Chicago. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Myrick  have  always  been  noted  for  their  hospitality 
and  benevolence;  they  have  for  very  many  years  been  among  the  managers 
and  staunchest  supporters  of  the  Orphan  Asylum,  and  Mrs.  Myrick  has 
been  a  directress  of  the  Soldiers'  Home  since  the  charity  was  instituted. 

Any  notice  of  this  life,  already  prolonged  beyond  the  allotted  three 
score  and  ten,  would  be  incomplete  which  omitted  mention  of  his  extreme 
fondness  for  children.  Amidst  five  little  grandchildren  in  his  own  home 
he  is  supreme.  Any  attempt  to  usurp  his  place  at  the  table  beside  a  little 
black  eyed,  two-year-old  granddaughter  is  the  signal  for  an  outbreak  that 
cannot  be  quieted  until  the  intruder  vacates.  The  little  folks  that  cannot 
talk  always  manage  to  lead  him  to  the  pantry  when  hungry. 

For  thirty  years  past  his  health  has  not  been  good,  and  for  this  reason 
he  has  during  that  time  led  a  retired  life.  He  has,  however,  taken  the 
deepest  interest  in  public  affairs,  always  votes,  and  has  all  the  love  of  country 
characteristic  of  citizens  of  his  native  State.  Secession  and  disunion  were 
of  all  things  most  hateful  to  him,  and  he  is  devotedly  attached  to  the 
party  that  overthrew  those  political  dogmas.  Well  preserved  in  years  he 
still  remains  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  Chicago. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


GROWTH    IN    POPULATION    AND    COMMERCE. 

Sometime  in  the  far  future,  when  in  the  repetition  of  history,  disaster 
and  desti'uction  may  have  fallen  upon  beautiful  Chicago,'  and  the  centuries 
hence  may  have  nothing  but  a  faint  shadow  of  the  name  playing  upon  the 
passing  moments,  it  can  readily  be  conceived  that  the  stray  record  of  the 
city's  growth,  which  may  chance  to  be  gazed  upon,  will  be  scanned  with 
as  much  astonishment  as  that  which  fills  the  soul  when  the  beauty  of  the 
excavated  streets  and  parlors  of  long  buried  Pompeii  are  beheld.  Broken  and 
battered  antiquity  is  always  charming.  We  are  idolaters  of  the  hoary  past. 
We  fondly  linger  wherever  death  has  left  a  footprint,  or  time  has  made  a 
ruin.  We  love  to  contemplate  the  things  and  people  that  were,  but  with 
whose  ashes  the  winds  of  centuries  have  been  sporting  as  if  they  had  never 
glowed  with  life,  significance  or  beauty.  Nor  does  it  matter  how  insig- 
nificant the  character  of  the  relic  is;  our  souls  are  fascinated.  It  may  be 
a  human  bone  or  an  obelisk — if  it  is  old,  it  is  alluring.  But  when  to  age  is 
added  magnificence,  or  a  startling  history,  the  mind  worships,  doubts,  tut 
worships  all  the  time  it  doubts,  and  then  accepting  the  record  as  true,  or 
the  magnificence  as  real,  gives  play  to  imagination  to  complete  the  picture 
which  the  centuries  have  in  many  parts  effaced.  So  it  will  be  ten  centuries 
hence,  when  fate  may  have  made  the  site  of  Chicago  a  more  dreary  waste 
than  it  has  been  painted  upon  any  of  the  preceding  pages.  But  should 
such  be  the  history  at  that  distant  future,  would  not  the  growth  of  a  city's 
population  from  three  thousand  to  a  half  a  million  in  forty-four  years,  excite 
temporary  incredulity  ?  Yet  this  is  a  fact  which  time  may  lose  sight  of, 
but  can  never  efface. 

In  1835  the  population  of  Chicago  was  3,265;  in  1836,  3,820;  in  1837, 
4,179;  in  1838,  4,000;  in  1839,  4,200;  in  1840,4,479;  in  1841,5,752;  in 
1842,  6,248;  in  1843,  7,580;  in  1844,8,000;  in  1845,  12,088;  in  1846,14,169; 
in  1847,  16,859;  in  1848,  20,023;  in  1849,  23,047;  in  1850,  28,269;  in  1851, 
34437;  in  1852,  38,733;  in  1853,  60,652;  in  1854,  65,872;  in  1855,80,028; 
in  1856,  84,113;  in  1857,  93,000;  in  1858,  90,000;  in  1859,  95,000;  in  1860, 
112,172;  in  1861,  120,000;  in  1862,  138,835;  in  1863,  160,000;  in  1864, 
169,353;  in  1865,  178,900;  in  1866,  200,418;  in  1867,  220,000;  in  1868, 
252,054;  in  1869,  273,043;  in  1870,  298,977;  in  1872,364,377;  in  1874, 
395,408;  in  1876,  430,200;  in  1878,  459,060,  and  in  1880,  503,278. 

Judging  the    future   by  the   past,  and    remembering  that   Chicago  is 

UNIVERSITY  OF 

ILLINUIS  LIBRARY 

AT  URBANA  CHAMPAIGN 


cr2  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

becoming  more  and  more  the  great  center  of  commerce  and  travel,  and 
more  and  more  the  center  of  the  world's  admiration,  it  is  difficult  to  attempt 
to  conjecture  what  the  population  will  be  in  a  hundred  years.  Some  who 
are  competent  to  judge,  as  far  as  any  one  is  capable  of  judging  the  future, 
predict  that  a  hundred  years  from  now  Chicago  will  have  a  population  of 
four  millions.  It  is  possible,  but  while  there  is  every  indication  that  the 
city  will  become  exceedingly  populous,  and  will  really  be  the  central  point 
in  the  nation,  it  lacks  seaboard  advantages.  This,  however,  it  is  expected 
.the  great  railroad  system  centering  here,  and  Diverging  to  all  points,  in- 
land and  seaward,  will  largely  compensate  for.  This  is  eminently  a  railroad 
age;  and  the  people  who  are  in  possession  of  a  network  of  railways, 
spanning  the  continent,  and  reaching  almost  everywhere,  have  reason 
to  hope  to  successfully  compete  with  the  people  who  live  upon  the  seashore, 
especially  if  they  have  no  vast  expanse  of  fertile  prairie  to  sustain  them. 

It  is  probable  that  the  population  of  Chicago  would  be  considerably 
larger  at  this  date,  had  there  not  been  serious  drawbacks  to  settlement  and 
to  the  permanency  of  those  already  settled,  in  the  early  history  of  the  city. 
Cholera  seemed  to  have  marked  the  place,  and  was  reluctant  to  release  its 
grip.  Beginning  among  the  soldiers  at  the  fort  as  noted  in  a  previous 
chapter,  it  made  its  appearance  the  second  time  in  the  history  of  the  place, 
in  1848.  At  this  time  many  immigrants  were  arriving  in  the  country  from 
Europe,  and  the  dread  disease  was  prevailing  in  sections  of  that  continent. 
Conning  from  New  Orleans,  the  immigrants  brought  the  disease  to  Chicago, 
and  the  epidemic  spread,  until  during  the  year  one  in  thirty-six  of  the  entire 
population  died,  making  a  total  of  six  hundred  and  seventy-eight  deaths. 
In  1850  cholera  again  appeared,  at  which  time  four  hundred  and  sixteen 
died  of  the  disease.  Cholera  appeared  in  1851  and  in  1852,  but  its  ravages 
were  slight.  In  1862  the  pestilence  again  mowed  a  black  swath  of 
death  through  the  city,  and  each  of  these  calamities  could  but  retard  the 
increase  of  population,  but  to  what  extent  they  really  did  retard  it  can  never 
be  determined.  Probably  thousands  whose  attention  was  attracted  hither, 
delayed  their  proposed  coming  until  the  desire  to  come  had  been  extin- 
guished, or  they  sought  other  homes.  Be  that  as  it  may,  the  growth  of 
Chicago's  population  is  one  of  the  most  astonishing  things  that  the  history 
of  the  world  presents  among  its  various  wonders.  If  we  go  a  few  years 
further  back  than  the  date  which  has  been  selected  in  this  chapter  as  the 
starting  point  for  the  record  of  the  increase  of  population,  and  note  the 
days  of  very  small  beginnings — details  of  which  have  been  given  in  other 
chapters — the  contrast  between  then  and  now  is  almost  bewildering  to 
contemplate.  Eighteen  hundred  and  eighty  finds  a  city  which  has  fairly 
reached  greatness  from  nothing  at  a  single  bound,  and  yet  a  city  which 
confidently  believes,  and  has  reason  to  believe,  that  it  is  but  in  infancy  in 
magnificence  and  power  as  it  literally  is  in  age. 

Increase  of  population  of  course  necessitated  an  increase  of  commerce, 
the  commencement  of  which  was  so  insignificant  that  but  for  curiosity  there 
would  be  danger  of  its  being  entirely  lost  sight  of  in  the  midst  of  the  busy 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 


53 


life  in  the  trade  marts  of  to-day.  During  the  year  1831  three  vessels  arrived, 
one  of  which  came  to  carry  away  the  troops  from  the  fort,  but  as  material 
for  the  construction  of  a  basis  of  Chicago's  great  and  growing  commerce  is 
so  meager,  it  is,  perhaps,  pardonable  to  notice  the  appearance  of  all  three 
vessels,  under  the  head  of  commercial  growth.  In  fact  only  one  of  the 
three — the  Telegraph,  from  Ashtabula,  Ohio — brought  a  stock  of  goods. 
In  1832,  George  W.  Dole  purchased  two  hundred  head  of  cattle  on  the 
Wabash  river,  and  slaughtered  them  here,  and  during  the  year  slaughtered 
three  hundred  and  fifty  hogs,  thus  inaugurating  the  business  which  has 
brought  so  much  wealth  into  this  city.  This  beginning  was  considerably 
improved  upon  during  the  next  year  when  five  hundred  and  seventy-eight 
cattle  and  two  thousand  and  nine  hundred  and  ninety-six  hogs  were 
slaughtered  and  packed.  The  year  1834  witnessed  a  decided  recognition 
of  the  increasing  importance  of  Chicago,  as  a  commercial  point,  in  the 
arrival  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  vessels,  which  discharged  cargoes.  On  the 
eleventh  of  July,  also,  the  Illinois,  the  first  large  vessel  that  had  ever  entered 
the  harbor,  sailed  in  amidst  the  plaudits  of  the  people.  The  packing  of 
this  year  amounted  to  one  thousand  cattle,  and  six  thousand  and  four  hun- 
dred hogs,  which  was  done  by  Archibald  Claybourne,  Newberry  &  Dole, 
and  Gurdon  S.  Hubbard.  The  number  of  vessels  which  arrived  in  1835 
outnumbered  the  previous  year's  arrivals  by  one  hundred,  and  this  average 
of  five  vessels  a  week  began  to  give  the  town  an  air  of  decided  commercial 
dignity.  But  when  during  the  next  year  four  hundred  and  fifty-six  vessels 
with  a  tonnage  of  sixty  thousand  arrived,  there  was  a  feeling  among  the 
people  that  greatness  had  been  unmistakably  thrust  upon  them.  Sylvester 
Marsh  erected  a  new  packing  house,  this  year,  on  Kinzie  street  near  Rush, 
which  he  continued  to  occupy  until  1853.  The  imports  in  1836  were  valued 
at  $325,203.90  and  the  exports  at  $  1,064.  These  exports  were  hides.  In  1837 
the  imports  amounted  to  $373,677.12,  and  the  exports,  consisting  of  hides, 
pork  and  beef  to  $i  1,665.00.  In  1838  the  imports  were  valued  at  $597,974.61, 
and  the  exports  $16,044.75.  This  year  witnessed  the  first  shipment  of  grain 
— seventy-eight  bushels  of  wheat — which  was  made  in  a  steamer  called  the 
Great  Western.  The  firm  shipping  this  wheat  also  shipped  in  the  same 
steamer  $  1 5,000  worth  of  hides.  During  the  year  also,  Absalom  Funk  shipped 
beef  and  pork  to  the  value  of  about  one  thousand  dollars.  "In  1839,"  says 
Professor  Colbert,  "the  number  of  exporters  had  increased  to  eight,  who 
sent  forward  produce  to  the  value  of  $45,843,  including  $15,000  in  hides 
$  1 1, ooo  in  provision  products,  and  16,073  bushels  of  \vheat,  besides  corn 
and  flour."  In  1840  the  value  of  wheat,  beef,  pork,  flour,  tallow,  salt, 
beans,  wool,  flax  seed,  hides  and  furs  exported  was  $223,883.  In  1843  the 
exports  amounted  to  $350,000.  The  first  Custom  House  registry  is  dated 
April  6th,  1845,  and  was  the  schooner  Congress  from  Port  Huron  with 
lumber.  During  this  year  the  number  of  boats  of  different  kinds  which 
arrived  here  was  1,320. 

Perhaps,  however,  the  commercial  development  of  Chicago  cannot  be 
better  shown — and  that  rather   than    too   close  attention  to  comparatively 


54 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 


unimportant  details,  is  the  object — than  to  here  insert  the  following  tables, 
taken  from  the  report  of  Charles  Randolph,  Secretary  of  the  Chicago 
Board  of  Trade.  They  show,  step  by  step,  the  remarkable  advancement 
of  the  business  of  Chicago  for' the  series  of  years  named,  and  following  the 
years  is  like  advancing  from  the  foot  of  a  steep  mountain  to  its  top.  It  is 
true,  the  record  of  the  years  is  not  invariably  upward,  but  that  would  not 
be  expected.  Various  causes  operate  in  the  history  of  every  place  to  make 
some  years  less  prosperous  than  others,  and  that  fact  is  never  accepted  as 
evidence  of  even  a  tendency  to  a  general  decline.  Chicago's  prosperity 
may  sometimes  have  been  checked, .but  in  every  instance  it  has  been  a 
sleep  through  which  fresh  vigor  was  obtained,  to  make  still  grander  achiev- 
ments  possible.  The  first  table  shows  the  aggregate  annual  shipments 
of  flour  and  all  kinds  of  grain  since  1838,  the  time  when,  as  before  noted, 
the  grain  business  was  begun: 


Year. 

Flour, 
barrels. 

Wheat, 
bushels. 

Corn, 
bushels. 

Oats, 
bushels. 

Barley, 
bushels. 

Rye, 

bushels. 

1818  . 

6320 

13  752 
28045 

3253S 
45  200 
5i  3°9 
100  871 
72  406 
61  196 
70984 
in  627 
163  419 
216  389 
259  648 
470  402 
686351 
698  132 
i  603  920 

1  739  «49 
i  522  085 
1  285  343 
i  293  428 
1  S>8i  525 
1  015  455 
2  399  619 
2  339  063 
i  705  977 
i  287  574 
i  361  328 

2  303  490 
2  306  576 
2  285  113 

2  634  838 
2  482  305 

2  779  640 
3  °9°  54° 

78 
3670 

IO  OOO 

40  ooo 

586  907 

688  967 
891  894 
956860 
1  459  594 
i  974  304 
2  160  ooo 

I  936  264 
883644 
437660 
635996 

I  206  163 

2  3«6  925 

6  298  155 
8  364  420 
9  846  052 
8  850  257 
7  166  696 
12  402  197 
1  5  835  953 
13  808  898 

10  793  295 
10  2150  026 
7  614  887 
10  118  907 
10  557  123 
10  374  683 
13  244  249 
16  432  585 

12  9°5  449 
12  106  046 

24  455  657 
27  634  587 
23  184  349 
14  361  950 
14  909  160 
24211  739 
31  006  789 

67  135 
55°  460 
644  848 
262  013 

3  221  317 

2  757  on 

2  780  228 

6  837  890 
7  5i7  625 
1  1  1  29  668 
6814615 
7  726  264 

4  349  360 
13  700  113 

24  372  725 
29  452  610 
25  051  450 

12  235  452 

25  437  241 
32  753  181 

21  267  2O5 
24  770  626 
21  586808 

17  777  377 
36  716030 

47  013  552 
36  754  943 
32  705  224 
26  443  8S4 
45  629  035 
46  361  901 
59  944  200 
61  299  376 

38896 
65  280 
26  849 
158084 
605827 
2030317 
i  748  493 
3  239  987 
i  888  538 
i  014  637 
506  778 
i  519079 
i  185  703 
i  091  698 

1  633  237 
3  112  366 

9  234  858 
1  6  567  650 
ii  142  140 
9961  215 
10  226  026 
14  440  830 
8800646 

8  507  735 
12  151  247 
12  255  537 

i5  694  i33 
10  561  673 
10  279  134 
II  271  642 
12  497  612 

16  464  5i3 
13  514020 

3i  452 
22872 

.  19  997 
79818 
1  20  267 
148411 
92  on 
19051 

J7993 
132  020 

486218 
267  449 
226  534 

532  195 
946  223 
345  208 
607484 
i  300  82  1 
i  846  891 
901  183 
633  753 
2  584  692 

2  908  113 

5  032  308 
3  366  041 

2  404  538 
i  868  206 
2  687  932 
4  213  656 
3  520  983 
3  566  401 

'73'S 
82  162 

41  '53 
19326 

591 

7569 
134  404 
1  56  642 

393  813 
871  796 
651  094 
893  492 
999289 

1  444  574 
i  213389 
i  202  941 
798  744 
913  629 
i  325  867 
776805 
960013 

335  077 
310  592 

i  433  976 

i  553  375 

2  O25  654 
2  224  363 

iS-iQ.  . 

1840.  . 

1841  .  . 

0^ 

1842  

184^.  . 

1844.  . 

184?  

1846  

1847.  . 

1848.  . 

1840.  . 

1850  

18:51  

i8q2.  . 

i8w  . 

1854  . 

i8s«;.  . 

1856  

18^7.  . 

1858.  . 

181:9.. 

1860  

1861  

1862  

1  861  . 

1864.  . 

i86s  

1866  

1867.  . 

1868  

1869.  . 

1870  

1871.  . 

1872.  . 

iST'l.  . 

1874.  . 

1875.  . 

1876  

1877.  . 

1878.  . 

1879  

CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 


55 


The  yearly  receipts  of  leading  articles  of  commerce  since  1852  were: 


Year. 

Beef, 
pkgs. 

i  189 
207 
i  697 
12427 
225 
481 
695 
6223 
1  747 
3  "3 
781 
2806 
9249 
19791 
787 
3475 
4534 
1478 

20  554 
53289 
14512 
7i58 
36  670 
26949 
37  202 
9359 
2  5°6 
4367 

Pork, 
barrels- 

Other  Cured 
Meats, 
pounds. 

Lard, 
pounds. 

Butter, 
pounds. 

Wool, 
pounds. 

181:2  . 

3270 
ii  250 

25  7oi 
29  265 
13298 
8918 
26570 

24533 
ii  1  20 

32  495 
66953 
97  "3 
41  190 

53  198 
15382 
35922 
34797 
45  248 
40883 
68  949 

121  O23 

43  758 
39695 
49205 
45  704 
35249 
33  073 
64  389 

i  937  237 
8  993  903 

14  492  OI2 

9  628  445 
10  323  463 
6  252  228 
8  007  064 
6  700  612 

12  728  328 
15  254013 
29  336  4°6 
36  756  28l 

17  018  277 
10866  118 
8  463  598 
14  693  767 
7  °55  814 

2O  930  202 

52  162  88  1 
30  150  899 
48  256  615 
58  782  954 
50  629  509 

54  445  783 
63368011 
62  031  670 
103  130  326 
i  si  131  767! 

67793 
888  568 

4  38o  979 
471  062 
821  827 

2  1  70  2OO 

3  144600 

3916251 

4  813  4°7 
6  841  940 

'9  764  315 
25  683  722 
13  259  628 
7  501  805 

8  553  358 
ii  030478 
6  050  065 
6  804  675 
7  711  018 
17  662  798 
19911  797 
26  57i  425 
24  HS  225 
21  982  423 
33  620  928 
27  236  359 
37  748  958 
75  754  "7 

i  327  100 
812  430 
2  M3  569 
2  473  982 
2  668938 

3  039  385 
3  166  923 

8  819  903 
7  492  028 
9  126  825 
3  816  638 
5  5°3  630 
10  224  803 
ii  682  348 
13  231  452 
H  574  777 

22  283  765 

28  743  606 
21  868  991 

33  941  573 
41  989  905 

48  379  282 
54  623  223 

770  294 
i  030  600 
751  838 
i  969299 
i  853  920 
i  116  821 
i  053  626 
918  319 
859  248 
i  184  208 
1  523  57i 

2  831  194 

4  304  388 
7  639  749 

1  2  2OO  640 

ii  218  999 

12  956  415 

8  923  663 
14751  089 
27  026  621 
28  181  509 
34  486  858 
45  018  519 
49  476  091 
57  099  828 
45  602  839 
43  428  403 
48  890  540 

i8^.  . 

1854.  . 

i8s5.  . 

i8<;6  . 

1857  . 

1858.. 

1859  

1860.  .  .     

1861  

1862  

1863  

1864  

1865.. 

1866.  .  .  . 

1867  

1868  

1869  

1870  

1871  

1872  

1873  

1874  

1875.. 

1876  . 

1877.  . 

1878.  .  .  . 

1879.  . 

Liq.and 

Year. 

Hides, 

Seeds. 

Salt, 

H.  Wines 

Coal, 

Lumber, 

Shingles, 

pounds. 

pounds. 

barrels. 

barrels. 

tons. 

feet. 

number. 

1852  

i  294  630 

618  ooo 

91  674 

7441 

46233 

147  816  232 

77080500 

1853  

i  274311 

2  197  187 

8  1  789 

8487 

38548 

202  101  078 

93  483  784 

1854  

i  430-326 

3  °47  949 

l69  556 

i733i 

56  775 

228  336  783 

82  061  250 

1855  

1  557  436 

3  023  238 

169  946 

18433 

109  576 

306  547  401 

108  647  250 

1856  

3  527  992 

2  843  2O2 

175  687 

30  ooo 

93020 

456  673  169 

135  876  ooo 

1857  

5  439  284 

2  257  223 

204  473 

28185 

171  350 

459  639  *98 

131  830  250 

1858  

ii  606  997 

4  271  732 

334  997 

38644 

87  290 

278  9-13  ooo 

127  565  ooo 

1859  

12  685  446 

5  241  547 

316291 

29431 

131  204 

382  845  207 

165  927  ooo 

1860  

ii  233918 

7  071  074 

255  148 

62  126 

131  080 

262  494  626 

127  894000 

1861  

9  962  723 

7  742  614 

390499 

8991  5 

184  089 

249  3o8  705 

79  356  ooo 

1862  

12  747  123 

8  176349 

612  203 

61  703 

218423 

305  674  045 

131  255000 

1863  

J7  557  728 

9  885  208 

775  364 

T37  947 

284  196 

413  301  818 

172  364  875 

1864  

20  052  235 

10  180  781 

680346 

102  032 

323  275 

501  592  406 

190  169  750 

1865  

19  285  178 

H  745  34° 

611  025 

32  435 

344  854 

647  145  734 

3io  897  350 

1866  

20  125  541 

13  618  858 

496  827 

60  202 

496  193 

730  057  168 

400  125  250 

1867  

23  522  066 

23  962  397 

492  129 

30812 

546  208 

882  661  770 

447  039  275 

1868  

25  132  260 

25  503  i  So 

686  857 

61  933 

658  234 

i  028  494  789 

514434100 

1869  

27  5J5  368 

22  803  545 

524321 

129  478 

799  ooo 

997  736  942 

673  166  ooo 

1870  

28  539  668 

18  681  148 

674  618 

165  689 

887  474 

i  018  998  685 

652  091  ooo 

1871  

2  5  026  034 

20  234  146 

703  917 

1  20  969 

081  472 

i  039  328  375 

647  595  ooo 

1872  

32  387  995 

44  755  412 

606673 

163991 

398  024 

i  183  659  280 

610  824  420 

1873  

36  885  241 

52  813  468 

651  506 

J24  715 

668267 

i  123  368  671 

517  923000 

1874  

1875  

52  287  674 
52  357  244 

73  192  773 
75  885  230 

687  239 
706588 

156  712 
117  786 

359  496 
641  488 

i  060  088  708 
i  H7  J93  432 

619  278  630 

635  708  120 

1876.  .  .  . 

55  484  514 

96  890  420 

906  965 

"9999 

619  033 

i  039  785  265 

566  977  400 

1877  

52  549  095 

1  20  1  70  080 

i  327  028 

82  427 

749091 

i  066  452  361 

546  409  ooo 

1878  . 

44029421 

*33  960  391 

i  382  197 

76294 

832  033 

i  180  586  150 

692  544  ooo 

1879  

56  610  510  169  772  521 

i  461  233 

93771 

-  ,vs  t  974 

i  469  878  991 

670  644  ooo 

CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 


The  yearly  shipments  during  the  same  period  were  as  follows: 


Year. 

Beef, 
pkgs. 

Pork, 
barrels. 

Other  Cured 
Meats, 
pounds. 

Lard, 
pounds. 

Butter, 
pounds. 

Wool, 
pounds. 

Hides, 
pounds. 

lSs2 

53965 
64499 

56  H3 

55  79° 

23794 
44402 

49530 
123  932 

85  563 
50  154 
151  631 
137  302 
140  627 
103064 
67762 
84622 

75424 
48  624 

65369 
89452 

399" 
33938 

72  562 

60454 
73575 
82  050 

67  757 
110431 

10  976 
29  809 

5i  542 
77623 
52  104 
30078 
80859 
92  218 
91  721 
65  196 
193  920 
449  152 
298  250 
284  734 
257  47o 
176851 

HI  321 
121  635 
165  885 
149  724 
208664 
191  144 
231  35o 
3i37i3 
3*9  344 
296  457 
346  366 
354  255 

i  446500 
9  266  318 
5  189  725 
6  401  487 
13  634  892 
3  463  566 

9  272  450 
i5  935  243 
59  748  388 
71  944  oio 
95  300  815 
50055322 
55  026  609 
73oii  584 
82  325  522 
95  106  106 
86  707  466 
112  433  168 
163  113891 
245  288  404 
343986021 
262  931  462 
362  141  943 
467  289  109 
'479  926  231 
747  269  774 
835  629  540 

I  2OO  OOO 

i  847  852 

2  5969J  2 
I  803  900 
3908700 

5  280  ooo 
7  232  750 
10325019 
16  400  822 
54  505  123 
58  030  728 

42  342  97o 
28  487  407 
26  755  368 

27  211  225 
23  527  821 
17  278  520 

43  292  249 
61  029  853 
86  040  785 
89  847  680 
82  209  887 
115  616  093 
138  216  376 
147  ooo  616 

244  323  933 
251  020  295 

577  388 
609449 
i  056  631 

297  748 
309550 
512  833 

5  927  769 
5  206  865 

8  503  321 
2  926  239 
3972021 
5  898  391 
6  493  H3 
11049367 

"  497  537 

12  851  303 

16  020  190 
19  249  081 
34  140  609 
37  OI°  993 
44  5°7  599 
51  262  151 

920  113 

953  zoo 
536  79i 

2  158  462 
575908 

fi  062  88  1 
'i  038  674 

934  595 
839  269 
i  360  617 

2  101  514 

3  435  967 
7  554  379 
9  923  069 
12  39i  933 
ii  293717 
13  101  162 
8  273  924 
15  826  536 

24  35i  524 
27  720  089 

32  715  453 
39  342  721 
51  895  832 
6  1  145  966 

45  346  422 
43  009  697 
47  5i3  638 

2  396  250 
2  957  200 

2  158  300 

3  255  750 
9  392  200 
8  609  200 
8  693  862 
16413320 
14863514 
12  277  518 

*5  3i5  359 
23  781  979 
27  656  926 
20  379  955 
23  234  79i 
27  739  °99 
29310038 
25  600808 
27  245  846 

22  462  864 

28  959  292 
30  725  408 
48  780  931 
55  867  904 
59  102  027 
56  622  694 
Si  875  447 
61  381  778 

i8c-? 

i8<u  . 

I8S5.  . 

1856.  . 

181:7  . 

i8q8.  . 

iSsQ.  . 

1860    

1861  

1862  

1863.  . 

1864.  . 

1861;.. 

1866  

1867 

1868  

1860.  . 

1870  

1871 

1872  . 

1873.. 

1874.  . 

1871; 

^1876    

1877  

1878  

1879  

Year. 

Seeds, 
pounds. 

Salt, 
barrels. 

Liq.  and 
H.  Wines 
barrels. 

Coal, 
tons. 

Lumber, 
feet. 

Shingles, 
number. 

i8ea 

12  853 
2  185  269 
2  109  832 

3484013 

2  828  759 

i  537  948 
4  027  846 
4  647  960 
6  055  563 
7  438  485 

6  165  221 

7  754  656 
ii  782  656 
7514928 
13316210 
19  058  921 
*5  870950 
12  217  398 
6287615 
14  213  989 

22  358  542 
25  76l  324 

43  3i5  623 
55  428  491 
82  344  295 
106  944  994 
95  441  270 
J33  566  596 

59333 
38785 
9i  534 
107993 
83601 
90  918 
191  279 

257  847 
172  963 
319  140 
520  227 
579694 
483  443 
444827 

452  537 
455  740 
524014 
535  626 
571013 
450  138 
5J3  850 
581  167 

657  295 
683  292 

779  676 
809  098 
841  092 
867  954 

16  242 
7027 
8013 

6  335 
6266 
10654 
28  007 
29529 
65  223 
in  240 
loo  170 
I593I2 
138  644 
'66053 

65995 
49250 

69  535 
156404 
176508 
171  031 
169  564 
141  348 
162  917 
168  149 

139°5I 

148  802 
164  605 
176038 

i  441 

2  988 
5068 
12  153 

16  161 

23942 
15641 
16886 
20364 
20  093 
12917 

15  245 
16779 
24  190 
34066 
69  170 

83399 
95620 
1  10  467 
96  833 
177  687 
243  637 
252  872 

365811 
249  862 
271  176 
305  694 

527  844 

70  740  271 
88  909  348 
133  131  872 
215  585  354 
243  387  732 
311  608793 
242  793  268 
226  120  389 

225  372  34° 
189  379  445 
189  277  079 

221  709  33o 
269  496  579 

385  353  678 
422  313  266 
5i8  973  354 
551  989  806 
58i  533  480 
583  490  634 
541  222  543 
4*7  827  375 
561  544  379 
580  673  674 
628  485  014 
576  124  287 
586  722  821 
626735  "8 
753  i7983o 

55  851  038 

71  442  550 
92  506  301 

*34  793  250 
115  563250 
*54  827  750 
150  129  250 
195  117  700 
168  302  525 
94  421  1  86 
55  761  630 
102  634  447 
138  497  256 
258  35i  450 
422  339  715 
480  930  500 

537  497  074 
638317840 
666  247  775 
558  385  350 
436  827  375 
407  505  650 
370  196651 
299  426  936 

214  389  575 
170410785 
123  233000 
146  820  450 

iRei                 

181:4    

IS;; 

j8c6        

l8?7     

i8s8  

iSso 

1860   

1861  

jS62   

186^ 

1864  

i86<; 

1866   

!867  

1868  

j869   

1870  

1871  

j872    

1877  . 

1874  

187? 

i8-j6   

1877  . 

1878..     

1879  

CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 


57 


In  this  connection,  and  as  a  means  of  convenient  reference,  the  follow- 
ing table  showing  the  annual  beef  and  pork  packing,  from  March  first  to 
March  first,  since  1859-60,  is  inserted: 


Season. 

Number  of 
Cattle 
Packed. 

Number  of 
Hogs 
Packed. 

Season. 

Number  of 
Cattle 
Packed. 

Number  of 
Hogs 
Packed. 

18159-60.  . 

51  606 
34624 

53763 
59687 
70086 

92459 
27  172 

25  996 
35348 
26950 

151  339 
271  805 
505691 
970  264 
904659 
760514 
507  355 
639  332 
796  226 

597  954 

1860-70 

ii  963 

21  254 
16080 

i5  755 

21   712 
4I    192 
63783 

Not  reported. 

it             ti 

688  140 
919  197 
i  225  236 
i  456  650 
i  826  560 

2   136  716 
2  320  846 

2  933  486 
4  009  311 
4  96o  956 

1866-1  

1870-1    

1861-2  

1871-2 

1862-3  

1872-3 

1861-4-  • 

IS73-4 

1864-15  

l874-C 

18615-6  

18715-6      .... 

1866-7....  

1876-7  

1867-8  

1877-8 

1868-9  

1878-9  

There  are  two  very  important  articles  of  commerce  which  are  not 
included  in  any  of  the  tables,  the  reason  of  which  is  that  they  have  not 
been  prominent  until  within  the  last  few  years.  These  are  butter  and 
cheese.  The  West  is  now  crowding  the  East  in  dairy  products,  and  as 
a  matter  of  course,  the  receipts  and  shipments  are  not  only  large,  but  are 
constantly  increasing,  and  this  great  and  growing  industry  is  destined  to 
play  a  very  conspicuous  part  in  creating  wealth  for  Chicago.  In  1879  the 
receipts  of  butter  were  54,623,222  pounds,  and  of  cheese  32,590,519  pounds, 
and  besides  these  large  quantities  of  both  articles  were  shipped  by  express, 
and  no  correct  record  was  kept  of  such  shipments,  necessitating  only  a 
partial  report  of  the  receipts  in  Secretary  Randolph's  annual  report  for 
1879. 

What  the  Board  of  Trade  has  contributed  to  this  marvelous  prosperity 
is  actually  realized  by  but  a  very  few.  Considered  by  many  well-meaning 
and  intelligent  people  as  an  enemy  to  the  public  interest,  and  by  many 
others  as  a  selfish  and  corrupt  combination  of  men,  the  denunciation  of  it 
has  often  exceeded  anything  that  could  possibly  be  considered  reasonable; 
and  while  it  no  doubt  contains  an  element  whose  absence  would  make  it 
richer  in  character  and  more  efficient  in  influence,  as  a  body  it  is  com- 
posed of  the  most  enterprising,  patriotic  and  generous  men  that  any  com- 
munity would  recognize  as  among  the  foremost  of  its  citizenship.  The 
very  name  suggests  an  association  of  men  who  are  the  life  of  a  city — the 
men  who  conduct  its  industries.  To  be  false  to  the  city,  or  to  those  who 
feed  the  commerce  of  the  city,  would  simply  be  suicidal  to  their  own  best 
interests.  In  some  of  the  prominent  towns  of  our  best  Territories  there  is 
no  government  except  the  board  of  trade.  Helena,  Montana,  a  town  of 
six  thousand  inhabitants,  has  shown  the  good  sense  to  stem  the  current  of 
Western  notions — which  are  in  favor  of  organizing  an  expensive  city  gov- 
ernment upon  a  very  small  taxable  property — and  has  committed  the 
government  to  the  county  authorities  and  to  the  Helena  Board  of  Trade. 
Why  should  they  not  do  it?  If  the  merchants  of  a  town  or  city — the  men 
who  own  the  stores  and  the  merchandise  in  them — are  not  ready  to  protect 


58  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

themselves  and  their  property,  who  can  be  expected  to  do  it?  And  if  they 
afford  this  protection,  the  community  will  be  peaceable  and  all  will  be  safe. 
The  Board  of  Trade  of  Chicago  is  not  invested  with,  and  lays  no  claim  to, 
governmental  powers,  but  it  is  nevertheless  a  power.  When  it  speaks  its 
voice  is  for  the  sanctity  of  human  life  and  for  justice,  political,  social  and 
commercial.  Its  aim  is  to  protect  the  property  and  preserve  the  good  order 
of  Chicago. 

In  the  Spring  of  1848  Thomas  Richmond  and  W.  L.  Whiting  sug- 
gested the  necessity  of  organizing  a  board  of  trade.  The  subject  being 
broached  by  these  gentlemen  to  other  business  men  it  was  decided  to  issue 
a  call  for  a  meeting  of  the  merchants,  to  be  held  in  the  office  of  Mr.  Whit- 
ing on  the  thirteenth  of  March,  1848.  The  call  was  published  in  accordance 
with  this  decision,  and  was  signed  by  Wadsworth,  Dyer  &  Chapin,  George 
Steele,  I.  H.  Burch  &  Company,  Gurnee,  Hayden  &  Company,  H.  H. 
Magie  &  Company,  Neef  &  Church,  John  H.  Kinzie,  Noi'ton  Walker  & 
Company,  DeWolf  &  Company,  Charles  Walker,  Thomas  Richmond, 
Thomas  Hale,  and  Raymond,  Gibbs  &  Company.  At  the  meeting  assem- 
bled in  pursuance  of  this  call,  it  was  voted  that  a  necessity  existed  for  the 
establishment  of  a  board  of  trade,  and  a  constitution  was  adopted,  and  a 
committee  appointed  to  prepare  by-laws,  with  instructions  to  report  at  an 
adjourned  meeting,  which  was  voted  to  be  held  on  the  first  Monday  of  the 
following  month.  At  this  adjourned  meeting  the  report  of  the  committee 
on  by-laws  was  adopted,  and  officers  were  elected.  The  first  President 
elected  was  George  Smith,  but  he  declined  to  serve,  and  Thomas  Dyer  was 
chosen  to  fill  the  vacancy.  Rooms  were  hired  in  South  Water  street  at 
a  hundred  and  ten  dollars  a  year.  After  the  organization  of  the  Board  it 
did  very  little  for  a  long  time.  In  1849  the  legislature  passed  an  act  of 
incorporation,  and  the  Board  was  formally  organized  under  it  in  1850.  The 
registry  of  members  in  the  following  year  showed  a  membership  of 
thirty-eight,  but  it  was  seldom  that  any  of  the  members  assembled  for 
the  transaction  of  business.  The  organization  was  but  a  name,  and  some 
of  the  members  did  not  even  think  it  worth  the  annual  assessment  of  three 
dollars  which  was  made  upon  each  member.  What  a  change  has  been 
wrought!  From  that  insignificant  beginning  the  Board  has  risen  to  the 
dignity  and  power  which  has  already  been  ascribed  to  it,  and  its  member- 
ship is  now  seventeen  hundred  and  seventy-three. 


v 


JAMES   HENRY  PEARSON. 

Sixty  years  ago  there  resided  at  Haverhill,  in  the  county  of  Grafton, 
State  of  New  Hampshire,  a  family  which  was  most  highly  esteemed  in 
the  community,  and  the  head  of  which  was  one  of  the  most  enterprising 
and  public  spirited  citizens  of  the  State.  It  was  the  family  of.  Isaac 
Pearson,  better  known  as  Major  Pearson,  the  father  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch.  He  was  engaged  in  lumbering,  saw  and  grist  milling,  woolen 
manufacturing  and  farming,  and  until  the  period  from  1842  to  1844  was 
a  prosperous  and  well-to-do  business  man.  But  honest  himself,  and  of 
a  generous  disposition,  he  confided  too  implicitly  in  the  honesty  and 
business  abilities  of  others,  a  mistake  which  induced  him  to  endorse  the 
paper  of  neighbors,  and  which  cost  him  his  comfortable  fortune  at  the  period 
named.  His  good  name,  which  he  cherished  more  fondly  than  wealth, 
was  left  him,  however,  and  that  he  maintained  unsullied  to  the  end  of  his 
life.  Major  Pearson  was  twice  married,  first  to  Charlotte  Merrill,  a 
daughter  of  Major  Merrill — who  was  prominent  in  that  section  of  the 
State  at  an  early  date — and  by  whom  he  had  two  children;  one  of  whom, 
Merrill  Pearson,  is  still  living,  and  now  resides  in  Bloomington,  Illinois, 
and  at  this  date  is  seventy-five  years  of  age.  His  second  wife — the  mother 
•of  our  subject — was  Charlotte  Ather.ton,  whom  he  married  May  28th,  1818, 
and  by  whom  he  had  nine  children.  Major  Pearson  after  a  long  and 
useful  life,  died  February  I3th,  1854,  and  Charlotte  Pearson,  his  widow, 
died  February  I9th,  1868,  in  the  seventy-fifth  year  of  her  age. 

James  Henry  Pearson  was  born  at  Haverhill,  New  Hampshire,  on  the 
tenth  of  December,  1820.  All  of  the  children  received  a  fair  common 
•school  education,  and  two  or  three  of  them  were  fitted  for  teachers.  James 
Henry  spent  his  early  days  in  his  native  town,  and  besides  'attending 
the  common  schools  was  also  a  student  at  the  Academy  at  that  place. 
When  fifteen  years  of  age  he  went  to  Boston,  Massachusetts,  and  entered 
a  retail  dry  goods  store  on  Washington  street,  as  a  clerk,  where  he 
remained  for  about  two  years,  when  he  returned  again  to  his  home  and 
attended  the  Haverhill  Academy  for  two  more  terms.  This  finished  his 
education,  which  owing  to  his  dislike  of  study,  and  a  restlessness  to  enter 
upon  an  active  business  life,  was  not  as  perfect  as  the  facilities  he  had 
enjoyed  would  warrant. 

Naturally  gifted  with  a  business  talent,  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  he 
took  charge  of  his  father's  affairs,  which  were  in  an  exceedingly  chaotic 


6o  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

state,  a  condition  resulting  from  the  endorsements  before  alluded  to- 
Renting  the  farm  and  saw  mill,  young  Pearson  took  a  contract  for  getting 
out  railroad  ties,  timber  and  wood,  and  he  and  the  brothers  kept  the  family 
together  until  1849,  when  he  made  a  settlemerA  with  his  father,  mother 
and  brothers,  and  removed  to  South  Hadley  Falls,  Massachusetts.  Previous 
to  this  removal,  however,  he  was  married — April  loth,  1850 — to  Sarah 
Elizabeth  Witherell,  daughter  of  George  Witherell,  of  Haverhill,  New 
Hampshire.  Business  in  his  new  home  not  proving  as  prosperous  as  he 
desired,  he  remained  here  only  about  four  months,  starting  in  June,  1851,. 
for  the  West,  leaving  his  wife  to  follow  as  soon  as  he  should  become 
settled.  Desiring  to  enter  into  the  lumber  business,  he  came  to  Chicago,, 
arriving  here  in  the  month  of  July,  1851,  his  wife  going  to  Eastern 
Massachusetts  to  remain  with  a  friend  until  such  time  as  his  permanent 
settlement  would  warrant  her  coming  West. 

Before  leaving  for  the  West,  however,  Mr.  Pearson  visited  his  native 
town,  and  while  here  he  was  greatly  surprised  one  day  while  passing  the 
house  of  John  Page,  then  Governor  of  the  State,  to  be  summoned  by 
the  Governor  to  enter.  The  Governor  said  to  him :  "I  understand  you 
are  about  to  go  into  the  Western  States  where  you  will  not  likely  be 
known  as  well  as  you  are  here,  and  I  have  prepared  a  paper  for  you  to 
take  with  you,  Henry,"  as  he  called  him;  "put  this  in  your  pocket,  it  will 
not  do  you  any  harm,  and  it  may  help  you  among  strangers."  The 
paper  read  something  like  this:  "The  bearer,  J.  H.  Pearson,  is  a  woithy 
young  man  of  our  town,  who  is  about  to  go  West  to  engage  in  business, 
and  we,  the  undersigned  citizens,  would  heartily  recommend  him  to  be 
an  honest  and  trustworthy  young  man  and  of  good  business  talents  and 
very  ambitious.  He  is  a  good  accountant  and  understands  the  lumber 
business,  and  can  do  most  anything  he  turns  his  hand  to.  Any  one  wish- 
ing to  employ  him  will  find  him  a  competent  young  man.  Respectfully,, 
signed,  John  Page,  John  L.  Rix,  John  R.  Redding,  Nathan  Felton, 
Jonathan  Nichols,  James  Bell,  Jacob  Bell  and  some  others."  Young 
Pearson  was  astonished  at  this  unexpected  and  unsolicited  testimonial. 
He  put  this  paper  into  his  pocket,  and  it  was  all  or  nearly  all  the  capital 
he  had,  save  between  six  hundred  or  seven  hundred  dollars  in  currency,, 
when  he  landed  in  Chicago.  But  that  paper  was  excellent  capital,  and  he 
never  proved  unworthy  of  its  representations.  Governor  Page  and  others 
who  signed  that  unsolicited  recommendation,  have  visited  Chicago  and 
stopped  with  him  numbers  of  times,  doubtless  feeling  much  satisfaction 
and  pride  in  the  results  which  they  aided  to  accomplish.  He  has  visited 
his  old  native  town  nearly  every  year,  always  to  the  delight  of  the  peo- 
ple in  whom  his  life  and  character  so  early  inspired  confidence. 

In  the  month  of  September  following  his  arrival  in  Chicago,  he 
went  down  on  the  Illinois  river  to  the  town  of  Henry,  Marshall  county, 
and  started  a  country  lumber  yard,  the  firm  of  Chapin  &  Butts,  then  in 
the  lumber  business  here,  giving  him  some  credit  on  lumber.  In  the 
Winter  season  he  also  bought  corn  on  the  ear  for  and  on  account  of  John. 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  6] 

P.  Chapin,  cribbing  it  until  Spring,  when  he  shelled  and  delivered  it  to 
canal  boats  for  the  Chicago  market,  there  then  being  no  communication 
with  this  city  except  by  river  and  canal. 

In  the  Spring  of  1853  he  disposed  of  his  business  in  Henry  and 
came  to  Chicago,  engaging  in  the  lumber  business  with  Colonel  Josiah 
L.  James,  formerly  of  the  firm  of  James  &  Hammond.  The  new  firm 
was  James  &  Pearson,  and  they  started  a  new  lumber  yard  on  Clark 
street,  next  to  Flint  &  Wheeler's,  afterward  Flint  &  Thompson's,  elevator. 
The  elevator  was  built  that  season,  with  the  expectation  that  the  Chicago 
and  Rock  Island  railroad  would  come  into  the  city  at  that  point,  and 
James  &  Pearson  located  there  in  consequence  of  that  belief.  The  firm 
took  a  long  lease  of  the  dock  on  the  river  of  Hugh  Mayher,  who  at  that 
time  was  a  large  property  owner  in  that  locality.  In  1854  Mr.  Mayher 
purchased  Colonel  James'  interest  in  the  lease  and  also  his  lumber  interest, 
whereupon  the  firm  became  Mayher  &  Pearson.  At  the  expiration  of 
a  year  from  the  formation  of  this  co-partnership,  business  in  that  locality 
began  to  improve  very  rapidly,  and  the  lease  being  very  valuable,  Mr. 
Pearson  disposed  of  his  interest  in  the  business  and  the  lease,  securing 
him  quite  a  little  capital  with  which  to  start  business  on  his  own  account. 
In  the  year  1855  he  leased  the  ground  and  dock  on  the  corner  of  Mar- 
ket and  Madison  streets,  where  the  Union  Block  now  stands,  and  the 
firm  of  J.  H.  Pearson  &  Company  was  organized,  William  T.  Powers, 
of  Grand  Rapids,  Michigan,  being  the  silent  partner.  After  being  in 
business  here  for  two  years,  Mr.  Pearson  went  to  the  west  side  of  the 
river,  just  opposite  his  former  location,  where  he  remained  two  years, 
doing  business  under  the  firm  name  of  Pearson  &  Messer.  In  1857  the 
firm  removed  to  Market  street,  where  Robert  Law's  coal  yard  is  now 
located.  In  December,  1857,  Mr.  Messer  died,  and  in  January,  1858, 
Webster  Batcheller  purchased  the  interest  formerly  owned  by  him  in  the 
business,  and  the  firm  became  Pearson  &  Batcheller,  which  continued 
business  in  that  yard  until  the  Spring  of  1862,  when  Mr.  Batcheller,  in 
consequence  of  ill-health,  went  to  California,  and  Avery,  Murphy  &  Com- 
pany, of  Port  Huron,  Michigan,  bought  his  interest.  The  business  was  then 
removed  to  the  Stowel  slip  on  Clark  street,  where  the  firm  was  Pearson, 
Avery  &  Company,  and  it  occupied  the  whole  slip  from  Clark  street  to 
the  main  river,  making  one  thousand  feet  of  dock  frontage,  which  was 
the  largest  yard  at  that  time  in  the  city.  The  firm  of  Pearson,  Avery 
&  Company  continued  in  business  until  the  Spring  of  1866,  and  during 
these  years  it  did  a  very  successful  business,  making  money  rapidly,  which 
furnished  facilities  for  the  prosecution  of  other  enterprises.  In  the  mean- 
time— in  the  Spring  of  1865 — Mr.  Pearson  purchased  a  half  interest  in 
a  saw  mill  in  Saginaw  City,  Michigan,  and  entered  into  co-partnership 
with  A.  W.  Wright,  the  firm  being  A.  W.  Wright  &  Company  in  Sagi- 
naw, and  the  next  year  J.  H.  Pearson  &  Company  in  Chicago.  They 
were  together  in  business  from  1865  to  1875  or  1876,  and  the  firm  owning 
quite  a  large  tract  of  pine  lands,  manufactured  lumber,  which  it  shipped 


62  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

to  Chicago,  doing  a  very  remunerative  and  exceedingly  satisfactory  busi- 
ness. 

In  the  Spring  of  1871  the  yard  in  Chicago  was  sold  to  Elisha  Eldred 
&  Company,  near  Polk  street  bridge,  and  in  tne  Fall  of  the  same  year 
it  was  all  swept  away  by  the  fire,  so  J.  H.  Pearson  &  Company  very 
fortunately  lost  by  the  great  fire  only  about  fifteen  thousand  dollars,  the 
most  of  the  loss  being  fire  insurance  stock,  and  the  balance  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  barrels  of  syrup,  which  the  firm  had  then  just  bought 
and  stored  on  the  North  Side  near  Wells  street  bridge,  on  a  speculation. 
Mr.  Pearson's  residence  at  the  time  Of  this  great  calamity,  was  on  the 
corner  of  Washington  and  Sangamon  streets,  and  was,  therefore,  beyond 
the  fire  limit.  He  still  resides  in  the  same  locality. 

Mr.  Pearson  is  a  prominent  member  of  the  First  Congregational 
Church,  now  on  the  corner  of  Washington  and  Ann  streets,  he  having 
united  with  this  church  July  4th,  1858.  He  is  one  of  its  officers  and  has  been 
for  a  number  of  years,  and  has  taken  quite  an  active  part  in  all  the  enter- 
prises of  the  church,  besides  contributing  liberally  toward  its  construction 
and  support.  He  has  also  been  benevolent  in  building  up  a  large  number 
of  other  churches  and  mission  schools  in  this  city.  He  has  always  been 
held  in  the  highest  esteem  in  the  church  and  society,  and  his  aid  and 
sympathy  has  always  been  confidently  relied  upon  in  all  religious  work. 
Mrs.  Pearson  is  also  a  prominent  member  of  the  same  church,  having 
united  in  1857. 

Our  subject  has  a  wife  and  four  children — three  sons  and  one  daughter. 
The  oldest  son,  Arthur  L.,  was  born  in  Henry,  Marshall  county,  Illinois, 
January  2Oth,  1853;  the  next  oldest,  Eugene  Henry,  was  born  in  Chicago, 
June  1 3th,  1854;  the  only  daughter,  Helen  Grace,  was  born  October  8th, 
1858,  and  the  youngest  child,  Robert  Nelson,  was  born  July  6th,  1864. 
Arthur  L.  is  giving  evidence  of  a  conspicuous  talent  for  art,  and  is  now 
in  Paris  engaged  in  study  with  a  view  of  becoming  an  artist.  The  next 
oldest  son  is  in  the  lumber  and  salt  business  with  his  father  in  Saginaw, 
Michigan,  the  firm  being  J.  H.  Pearson  &  Son.  Helen  Grace  Pearson 
was  married  to  Charles  P.  Gladwin,  of  Philadelphia,  June  26th,  1877, 
and  Mr.  Gladwin  died  December  26th,  1877,  after  which  Mrs.  Gladwin 
returned  to  Chicago,  and  is  now,  with  her  daughter,  residing  with  the 
family  of  Mr.  James  H.  Pearson. 

The  life  of  Mr.  Pearson  has  been  one  of  great  business  activity, 
unusual  success,  fidelity  to  duty  and  of  unclouded  honor.  His  record — 
in  which  any  man  would  feel  a  pride — has  been  made  in  Chicago,  and  is 
consequently  a  part  of  the  history  of  the  great  city.  Prominent  in  that 
large  and  influential  circle,  the  lumber  dealers,  an  officer  in  the  Union 
Trust  Company  Bank,  forward  in  works  of  Christian  benevolence,  and 
upright  and  honorable  in  all  the  relations  of  life,  he  is  of  that  class  of 
citizenship  upon  which  a  community  wholly  depends  for  the  realization 
of  its  greatest  possibilities.  In  politics  he  has  never  been  conspicuous 
but  as  a  citizen  who  fully  realizes  the  duties  and  responsibilities  of  citizen- 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  03 

ship,  he  never  fails  to  deposit  his  ballot  on  election  day  for  the  candidates 
of  the  party  with  which  he  has  always  voted  since  the  decay  of  the  old 
Whig  party,  and  which  he  believes  to  be  the  political  organization  which 
embodies  the  most  good  for  the  nation — the  Republican.  In  every 
respect  his  life  has  been  a  success,  and  while  he  keeps  his  own  counsels  as 
to  the  amount  of  his  wealth,  it  is  known  that  he  is  a  large  owner  of  bank 
stock,  the  owner  of  a  large  property  in  Saginaw  City,  of  great  tracts  of 
pine  land  in  Michigan,  real  estate  in  this  city,  besides  his  large  business 
interests,  and  he  is  variously  estimated  to  be  worth  from  four  hundred  to 
seven  hundred  thousand  dollars. 


BENJAMIN   L.  ANDERSON. 

The  lumber  trade  is  one  of  the  vast  industries  which  have  distinguished 
Chicago  and  made  her  great  and  powerful.  Like  the  city  itself  it  has 
sprung  within  a  few  years  from  the  most  insignificant  beginning  into 
immense  proportions  and  almost  limitless  influence;  and  the  men  who 
have  built  up  such  a  source  of  profit  and  renown  in  this  community  have 
been  and  are  among  the  most  substantial  of  its  citizenship.  Among  the 
most  prominent  of  these  is  Benjamin  L.  Anderson,  the  subject  of  the  fol- 
lowing sketch — a  man  who  has  deeply  impressed  the  business  with  the 
energy  of  his  own  character,  and  contributed  his  full  share  in  moulding 
the  robust  commercial  character  of  the  city  in  which  he  has  lived  for 
more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century.  The  magnificent  results  of  his  life 
have  been  the  legitimate  fruits  of  great  natural  endowments  largely 
trained  under  -his  own  judicious  instruction,  and  of  well  directed  enter- 
prise. Like  so  many  other  representative  Chicagoans,  he  is  indebted 
solely  to  himself  for  the  success  which  he  has  achieved,  and  which  is 
a  monument  to  the  most  desirable  and  most  useful  traits  of  human  char- 
acter. During  the  years  in  which  he  has  been  engaged  in  creating  the 
large  business  interests  of  which  The  B.  L.  Anderson  Company  is  now 
the  representative,  the  sunshine  and  the  flowers  have  not  uninterruptedly 
made  the  picture  in  which  he  was  a  prominent  figure.  These  pages  detail 
common  adversities  in  which  if  any  class  suffered  more  than  another,  it 
was  those  which  represented  the  more  important  commercial  interests 
and  had  control  of  the  heaviest  business.  But  through  them  all  Mr. 
Anderson  maintained  an  unflinching  courage,  and  with  an  unshaken  faith 
in  the  future  permanent  greatness  of  Chicago,  bade  defiance  to  discour- 
agements, and  patiently  waited  in  the  midst  of  the  night  for  the  morning 
and  in  the  midst  of  the  cloud  for  the  sunshine.  Of  English  nativity  he 
has  always  shown  that  steadiness  of  character  and  tenacious  and  intelli- 
gent perseverance  which  distinguish  Englishmen,  and  which  are  of  such 
inestimable  value  to  their  possessor  under  the  usual  circumstances  attend- 
ing the  development  of  a  new  community  like  our  Chicago  and  the 
West.  But  for  these,  in  addition  to  his  natural  abilities  and  spotless 
integrity,  Mr.  Anderson,  instead  of  being  a  representative  of  a  most 
important  and  prominent  commercial  class,  and  an  influential  citizen, 
would  have  been  numbered  with  the  multitude  whose  opportunities  were 
as  great  as  his,  but  having  less  courage,  less  determination  and  less  faith 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  65 

in  the  possibilities  of  Chicago,  dropped  out  of  the  conflict,  being  remem- 
bered, if  at  all,  only  as  lamentable  failures.  In  the  midst  of  these  many 
failures,  our  battle  scarred  veterans  of  commerce,  who  have  stood  as 
steadily  at  the  wheel  when  the  waves  ran  high  and  perils  were  the  most 
imminent,  as  when  the  most  delightful  calm  rested  upon  the  surface  of  the 
waters,  approach  so  nearly  to  the  character  of  heroes  that  the  community 
is  pardonable  for  entertaining  for  them  a  reverence  as  well  as  gratitude. 
It  is  to  such  men  that  Chicago  owes  her  existence,  her  matchless  rapidity 
of  development  and  the  permanency  of  her  glory. 

Benjamin  L.  Anderson  is  the  son  of  John  and  Sophia  Anderson,  and 
was  born  at;  Wisbech,  county  of  Cambridge,  England,  September  23d, 
1833.  The  Anderson  family  to  which  he  belongs,  though  English  for 
three  generations  preceding  his,  were  Scotch-Quakers  who  at  that  time 
intermarried  with  the  French  Huguenots,  who  fled  from  France  and 
settled  in  England;  and  from  that  union  of  those  two  elements  of  Scotch 
and  French  sprang  the  remarkable  characteristics  of  the  Anderson 
family.  The  childhood  of  Mr.  Anderson  was  spent  in  his  native  town, 
where  he  received  a  common  school  education,  which  he  completed  when 
only  twelve  years  of  age,  and  went  out  into  the  world  to  commence  the 
battle  of  life.  Naturally  observing  and  quick  to  learn,  however,  his 
education  was  by  no  means  ended  when  he  left  the  schools  of  Wisbech. 
On  the  contrary,  he  was  an  apt  scholar,  and  never  permitted  the  oppor- 
tunities for  increasing  his  knowledge  to  pass  unimproved,  a  course  which 
resulted  in  his  obtaining  a  fine  business  education  and  a  general  informa- 
tion, which  are  not  often  surpassed.  When  only  fifteen  years  of  age  he 
occupied  the  responsible  position  of  book-keeper,  serving  in  that  capacity 
for  seven  years,  and  exhibiting  the  business  traits  of  character  which  have 
since  developed  so  prominently  and  guaranteed  the  success  which  he  has 
achieved  in  later  life.  As  a  book-keeper  the  young  man  was  faithful  to 
details,  industrious  and  conscientious,  features  of  character  which  in  after 
years  he  never  permitted  to  be  subordinated  to  any  other. 

In  1855,  when  only  twenty-two  years  of  age,  our  subject  came  to 
Chicago  and  immediately  entered  the  employment  of  one  of  the  oldest 
firms  then  and  now  in  the  trade,  remaining  with  them  until  1866,  when  he 
engaged  in  the  business  for  himself,  which  he  has  prosecuted  from  that 
time  until  the  present,  his  company  being  one  the  leading  firms  in  our 
city.  Upon  matters  concerning  the  trade  his  judgment  is  deemed  authority, 
and  his  unimpeachable  integrity  clothes  his  opinions  with  unquestioned 
influence.  No  man  in  the  trade  stands  higher  in  the  estimation  of  his 
business  associates,  in  evidence  of  which  he  always  occupies  a  conspicu- 
ous place  in  their  councils.  At  the  present  time  Mr.  Anderson  holds  the 
office  of  director  in  the  Lumber  Exchange,  and  in  less  prominent  positions 
is  constantly  rendering  valuable  services  to  the  general  business. 

Mr.  Anderson  was  married  at  Chicago,  June  23d,  1858,  to  Eliza 
Cooke,  also  a  native  of  Wisbech,  England.  Five  children  have  blessed 
this  union,  three  of  whom  are  still  living,  their  names  and  ages  being  as 


66  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZKNS. 

follows:  William  Braim,  now  in  his  twenty-second  year;  George  Henry, 
in  his  seventeenth  year,  and  Lucretia,  in  her  twelfth  year.  In  his  domestic 
relations  Mr.  Anderson  is  highly  blessed,  and  his  elegant  home  presents 
a  scene  of  happiness  and  refinement  which  is  not  surpassed  in  any  home 
in  our  metropolis.  Properly  appreciating  the  importance  of  a  faithful 
discharge  of  the  private  duties  of  life,  as  a  husband  he  is  considerate  and 
as  a  father  exemplary;  in  fact  he  is  guided  in  his  family  and  social  inter- 
course by  the  same  undeviating  regard  for  principle  that  distinguishes 
his  actions  in  his  business  relations.  His  candor  and  honesty  in  any  sphere 
in  which  duty  calls  him  are  always  prominent. 

The  success  of  this  life  has  been  exceptional,  as  success,  comparatively 
considered,  always  is;  but  really  brilliant  though  it  has  been,  Mr.  Ander- 
son is  still  a  young  man,  with  years  of  opportunity  yet  before  him,  and 
it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  what  he  has  already  achieved  is  scarcely 
more  than  a  foundation  for  future  probabilities.  Such  enterprise  as  his 
grows  stronger  and  broadens  with  age;  such  abilities  become  more  alert 
as  they  mature,  and  such  attributes  of  heart  constantly  win  wider  confi- 
dence and  yet  warmer  esteem.  In  the  years  that  are  to  come  we  may 
expect,  therefore,  to  see  a  still  deeper  impress  made  upon  the  commercial 
and  social  character  of  Chicago  by  this  already  representative  citizen 
than  that  which  he  has  already  stamped  upon  it. 


JOHN   HUME  KEDZIE. 

» 

It  is  the  express  wish  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch  that  the  space 
allotted  to  him  should  be  mainly  occupied  in  rescuing  from  oblivion  and 
placing  on  record  what  is  now  authentically  known  of  his  ancestry  on 
both  sides,  with  a  slight  reference  by  way  of  adding  interest  to  what  is 
traditional.  And  as  tradition  comes  before  history,  we  will  commence 
with  the  traditional.  We  will  premise  the  fact,  however,  that  the  name 
in  early  times  was  variously  spelled  as  Kadge,  Cadge,  Kadzie,  KaidzieT 
Kedzie,  Kadzow,  Cadzow  and  still  other  forms,  as  shown  on  an  ancient 
monument,  dating  back  three  hundred  years^  into  the  reign  of  Queen 
Elizabeth,  still  standing  in  the  central  part  of  the  kirkyard  of  Carnwath, 
which  has  been  devoted  to  this  family  for  centuries.  There  is  now  a  town 
seven  miles  west  of  Carnwath  called  Kilcadzow,  named  from  this  family, 
where  many  of  their  descendants  still  live.  But,  to  the  family  traditions. 

During  the  fourteenth  century,  in  the  reign  of  Richard  II,  of  England, 
and  Robert  II,  house  of  Stuart,  of  Scotland,  the  Kadges  or  Cadges — after- 
ward Kadzies,  Kedzies,  Kedies  and  Cadzows — dwelt  in  Craig-Nethan 
castle,  owning  and  holding  possession  of  contiguous  territory  for  miles 
around.  When  they  gained  this  possession  is  not  known.  After  holding 
possession  for  generations,  they  were  dispossessed,  probably  in  the  troubles 
arising  when  Charles  II  attempted  to  force  prelacy  on  Scotland,  to  which 
the  occupants  of  Craig-Nethan  made  strong  resistance,  and  in  consequence 
met  with  persecution. 

Craig-Nethan  castle,  now  in  ruins,  stood  near  the  village  of  Cross- 
ford,  in  Lanarkshire.  It  was  situated  a  mile  south  of  the  Clyde,  on  the 
west  bank  of  the  river  Nethan.  Being  built  before  the  invention  of  gun- 
powder, it  was  designed  to  be  defended  with  arrows,  spears  and  swords, 
and  has,  growing  on  its  esplanade,  very  ancient  yew  trees  from  the  timber 
of  which  bows  were  made.  The  exterior  walls  of  the  castle  form,  nearly 
a  square,  being  a  little  longer  from  north  to  south  thaji  from  east  to 
west.  They  are  from  four  hundred  and  fifty  to  five  hundred  feet  in 
length  on  each  side.  On  the  east  side,  sloping  toward  the  Nethan,  is 
a  beautiful  esplanade  with  its  yew  trees.  The  width  of  this  is  three  hundred 
feet.  Then  comes  a  series  of  precipices,  each  forming  a  descent  of  from 
thirty  te  fifty  feet,  till  the  river  is  reached,  one  thousand  feet  away  and 
three  hundred  feet  below.  The  entrance  to  the  castle  is  an  oblique  way 
on  the  west  side.  The  exterior  wall  >.  iwenty  feet  high  and  six  feet  thick. 


68  CHICAGO  AND  ITS   DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

The  middle  part  of  the  wall  is  seventy  feet  high.  This  top  is  reached 
by  stone  steps  on  the  inside,  and  was  used  as  a  lookout.  All  this  exterior 
wall  is  mantled  with  ivy  a  foot  thick,  and,  in  the  season,  is  alive  as  a  nest- 
ing place  for  sparrows. 

Inside  this  wall,  and  built  against  it,  is  a  continuous  line  of  rooms. 
These  are  in  ruins,  except  on  the  southwest  corner,  where  lives  the  farmer 
who  cultivates  the  adjacent  lands.  Next  to  this  series  of  rooms  is  a  walk 
and  carriage  way,  extending  clear  around.  The  inside  of  this  is  marked 
by  a  second  wall,  five  feet  high  and  two  feet  thick,  surmounted  with  stone 
images,  life  size,  of  men,  animals  and  hybrids  in  grotesque  shape  and 
position.  Inside  this  is  a  beautiful  pleasure-ground,  and  in  the  center  of  it 
is  the  castle  hall,  built  and  arched  with  stone  and  pierced  for  the  admission 
of  light.  At  the  middle  of  the  south  end,  built  into  the  wall  and  extend- 
ing into  the  pleasure  grounds,  is  an  edifice  of  stone.  Within  it  is  a  well 
three  hundred  feet  deep,  descending  to  the  level  of  the  Nethan  and  Clyde. 
It  is  descended  by  a  flight  of  polished  stone  steps,  built  into  the  side  of  the 
excavation.  This  well  was  evidently  to  afford  water  in  time  of  siege. 

The  castle  is  a  reality,  but  the  connection  of  the  Kadzies,  afterward 
Kedzies  and  Kadzows,  rests  upon  traditions  current  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Carnwath  among  the  descendants  of  this  family.  The  descendants  of  this 
family  have  stronger  ground  however,  for  pride  of  ancestry,  if  this  be 
justifiable,  in  the  character  of  the  Kedzies  in  Scotland  dating  back  two 
hundred  years.  For  that  period  they  have  tteen  known  as  men  of  high 
intelligence,  honest  farmers,  staunch  Presbyterians  and  sturdy  opponents 
of  prelacy. 

Prompted  by  the  desire  to  better  his  fortunes,  Adam  Kedzie,  the 
grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  with  his  wife,  Margaret  Stewart, 
and  their  eight  children,  Betsey,  George,  Nancy,  James,  Janet,  William, 
Isabel  and  Adam,  came  to  this  country  from  Hawick,  Roxboroughshire, 
Scotland,  in  the  year  1795.  They  settled  in  Delaware  ecu  ity,  New  York, 
From  this  family  have  sprung  all  the  Kedzies  in  this  country.  As  a  speci- 
men of  the  brawn,  both  of  muscle  and  willf  which  characterized  that 
generation,  as  well  as  affording  a  clew  to  their  religious  character,  we  will 
relate  an  anecdote  of  Mrs.  Margaret  Stewart  Kedzie,  named  above.  Aftei 
arriving  at  their  destination  in  Delaware  county,  it  became  necessary  for 
some  one  to  go  back  to  Catskill  to  look  after  their  luggage.  Mrs.  Kedzie 
started  at  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  and  walked  to  Catskill,  fifty  miles, 
arriving  there  before  breakfast  next  morning.  Having  transacted  her 
business,  she  found  an  opportunity  to  ride  back  the  next  day,  which  was 
Sunday.  Rather  than  break  the  Sabbath  she  remained  over,  attended 
church,  and  providing  herself  with  religious  tracts  to  distribute  on  '*•-<* 
road,  she  started  home  on  foot  Monday  morning. 

Robert  Hume,  the  maternal  grandfather  of  Mr.  Kedzie  came  over  with 
his  family  in  the  same  vessel  with  the  Kedzies.  All  that  has  been  said  of 
the  Kedzie  family  in  early  times,  can  with  equal  truth  be  said  of  the 
Humes.  Though  it  is  probable  that  they  were  only  remotely,  if  at  all, 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  69 

connected  with  the  Earls  of  Hume,  still  a  few  extracts  from  the  GAZETEER 
of  Scotland  in  regard  to  Hume  Castle  will  be  interesting: 

"The  castle  and  the  seat  of  the  potent  Earls  of  Hume,  and  one 
of  the  chief  objects  of  antiquarian  research  in  Berwickshire,  was,  about 
seventy  years  ago,  in  so  prostrate  a  condition  as  to  exist  only  in  vestiges, 
nearly  level  with  the  ground.  But  it  was  in  a  rude  sense  restored  by  the 
last  Earl  of  Marchmont.  At  least  some  walls  of  it  were  re-edified  and 
battlemented,  and  seen  from  a  distance,  it  now  appears,  from  its  far  seen 
elevation,  to  frown  in  power  and  dignity  over  the  whole  district  of  the 
Marse  and  a  considerable  part  of  Roxboroughshire,  and  constitutes  a  very 
picturesque  feature  in  the  center  of  a  wide  spreading  landscape. 

The  castle  figured  largely  in  the  history  of  the  times  preceding  the 
Restoration,  and  comes  prominently,  or  at  least  distinctly,  into  notice  toward 
the  close  of  the  thirteenth  century.  The  family  of  Hume  sprang  by 
lateral  branches  from  the  powerful  and  noted  E;irls  of  Dunbar.  In  1650, 
immediately  after  the  capture  of  Edinburgh  Castle,  Cromwell  dispatched 
Colonel  Fen  wick  at  the  head  of  ten  regiments  to  seize  the  Earl's  Castle 
of  Hume.  In  answer  to  a  peremptory  summons  to  surrender  sent  to  him 
by  the  Colonel  at  the  head  of  his  troops,  Cockburn,  the  Governor  of  the 
Castle,  returned  two  missives,  which  have  been  preserved  as  specimens 
of  the  rollicking  humor  which  occasionally  bubbles  up  in  the  tragedy 
of  war.  The  first  was: 

RIGHT  HONORABLE:  —  I  have  received  a  trumpeter  of  yours,  as  he  tells  me, 
without  a  pass,  to  surrender  Hume  Castle  to  the  Lord  Cromwell.  Please  you,  I  never 
saw  your  General.  As  for  Hume  Castle,  it  stands  on  a  rock. 

Given  at  Hume  Castle,  this  seven  o'clock.  So  resteth  without  prejudice  to  my 
native  country.  Your  humble  servant,  T.  COCKBURX. 

The  second  was  expressed  in  doggerel  lines,  which  continue  to  be 
remembered  and  quoted  by  the  peasantry,  often  in  profound  ignorance 
of  the  occasion  when  they  were  composed: 

I,  Willie  Wastle, 
Stand  firm  in  my  castle, 
And  a'  the  dogs  o'  your  town 
Will  not  pull  Willie  Wastle  down." 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  the  son  of  James  Kedzie  and 'Margaret 
Hume,  born  in  Stamford,  among  the  hills  of  old  Delaware,  September 
8th,  1815.  He  worked  on  the  farm  in  the  Summer  and  went  to  the  com- 
mon school  in  the  Winter,  until  he  was  seventeen.  At  eighteen  he 
commenced  to  teach  in  district  schools  in  Winter,  and  "boarded  around." 
He  remained  with  his  father  on  the  farm  till  the  mortgage  was  raised, 
good  buildings  erected  and  a  snug  sum  put  out  at  interest,  when  he  sought 
to  gratify  his  taste  and  desire  for  a  liberal  education.  He  pursued  his 
preparatory  studies  in  part  at  Oneida  Institute,  Delaware  Institute  and 
Western  Reserve  College,  and  graduated  at  Oberlin,  Ohio,  in  "1841,  com- 
pleting the  four  years  course  in  three.  After  teaching  in  academies  for 
several  years  and  studying  law  in  the  meantime,  he  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  in  New  York,  in  the  Spring  of  1847,  and  came  immediately  to 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 


Chicago,  where  he  arrived  on  the  seventh  of  July,  1847,  with  seven  dollars 
in  his  pocket.  He  at  once  entered  on  the  practice  of  his  profession,  which 
he  continued  until  his  real  estate  investments  required  his  whole  attention. 
Without  pecuniary  assistance  from  any  one  he  has  for  some  time  been 
reckoned  as  among  the  solid  men  of  Chicago. 

On  the  fifth  of  July,  1850,  he  was  married  to  Mary  Elizabeth  Austin, 
of  Cairo,  New  York,  a  lady  of  rare  beauty  and  loveliness.  She  died 
July  i6th,  1854.  ^7  her  he  had  one  child,  Mary  Elizabeth,  born  June 
3Oth,  1854,  and  died  August  3Oth,  1855.  He  was  married  again  June  iyth, 
1857,  *°  Mary  Elizabeth  Kent,  daughter  of  Reverend  Brainard  and  Lucy 
B.  Kent,  who  is  still  living  and  needs  no  eulogy.  By  her  he  has  had  five 
children,  viz:  Kate  Isabel,  married  to  George  Watson  Smith,  born  June 
23d,  1858;  Laura  Louise  (Pet  Lulu),  born  July  3d,  1859,  died  November 
I9th,  1864;  Julia  Hume,  born  December  29th,  1860,  died  November  24th, 
1864;  Margaret  Frances,  born  February  i5th,  1867,  and  John  Hume,  Jr., 
born  March  3d,  1872. 

His  brothers  and  sisters  are  as  follows:  Adam,  Allison  Hume,  Mar- 
garet Stewart,  Isabella  Bunyan,  Robert  Hume,  Elizabeth  Bunyan,  George 
Lawson  and  Jane  Ann,  of  whom  only  Allison,  Isabella  and  George  sur- 
vive. Mr.  Kedzie  has  for  the  past  twenty  years  resided  in  Evanston,  a 
suburb  of  Chicago,  where  he  has  served  several  terms  on  her  local  boards. 
In  1877  he  represented  his  district  as  a  Republican  member  of  the  Thirtieth 
General  Assembly  of  Illinois.  His  residence  was  burned  December  9th, 
1873,  which  he  replaced  with  one  of  the  most  elegant  residences  in  Evanston. 
On  the  thirty-first  of  December,  1880,  this  also  was  destroyed  by  fire.  In 
conclusion  we  quote  from  a  printed  census  of  the  Kedzie  family: 

"No  Kedzie  is  known  to  have  been  arrested  as  a  violator  of  the  civil 
law,  to  have  been  intemperate,  or  dependent  on  charity,  or  paid  less  than 
one  hundred  cents  on  the  dollar,  and  none  have  reached  the  early  years 
of  adult  life  without  having  become  a  member  of  the  church." 


7 


HART  L.  STEWART. 

Few  men,  in  the  evening  of  a  long  life,  have  so  little  to  regret,  and  so 
much  to  be  satisfied  with,  as  General  Hart  L.  Stewart.  For  these  many 
years  his  active  mind  and  diligent  hand  have  been  prominent  figures  in 
the  development  of  the  great  Northwest,  and  his  unimpeachable  character 
has  shone  throughout  like  a  fadeless,  never-setting  star.  Still  youthful  in 
spirit,  clear  in  intellect,  and  cordial  in  intercourse  with  the  world,  the 
influence  of  his  life  is  like  that  of  a  morning  sunbeam.  Easily  approachable, 
he  would  be  as  attentive  to  the  request  of  a  child,  or  to  a  worthy  appeal  for 
sympathy,  as  he  would  be  to  an  invitation  to  dine  with  a  prince.  Reserved, 
yet  responsive  to  the  "heart-throbs  of  his  kind;  rich  in  dearly-purchased 
experience,  but  willing  to  impart  to  others  what  he  has  learned;  crowned 
with  laurels  which  an  eventful  and  honorable  life  has  won  from  his  fellow 
citizens,  yet  unassuming;  preserving  the  dignity  of  an  old  school  gentle- 
man, yet  democratic  in  sentiment,  General  Stewart  is  an  exceptionally 
charming  figure  in  the  picture  of  busy,  bustling  Chicago. 

General  Stewart  was  born  in  Bridgewater,  New  York,  August  29th, 
1803.  His  early  life  was  spent  at  home,  and  from  the  time  he  was  twelve 
years  of  age  until  he  was  seventeen,  he  assisted  his  father  in  clearing  a 
large  acreage  of  timbered  land  in  Genesee  county,  New  York,  which 
he  had  purchased  from  the  Holland  Land  Company.  Upon  attaining  the 
age  of  seventeen,  however,  he  began  the  study  of  law,  but  his  father  being 
unable  to  support  him,  he  was  compelled  to  abandon  his  studies,  after  a 
year's  application.  Upon  reaching  his  majority  he  became  an  extensive 
contractor  on  public  works,  and  he  and  his  brother,  Alanson,  who  was 
connected  with  him  in  business,  were  called  the  "boy  contractors."  The 
firm's  handiwork  can  be  seen  on  the  New  York  and  Erie  canal,  the  Ohio 
canal,  and  the  Pennsylvania  canal  ;  and  the  tunnel  through  the  branch 
of  the  Allegheny  mountains  on  the  Conemaugh  river  was  constructed 
by  these  young  men. 

On  February  5th,  1829,  our  subject  was  married  to  Hannah  Blair 
McKibben,  of  Franklin  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  immediately  thereafter 
removed  to  Saint  Joseph  county,  Michigan,  he  having  previously  visited 
the  locality  and  purchased  a  thousand  acres  of  land^on  White  Pigeon  and 
Sturgis  Prairie.  He  carried  with  him  from  distinguished  men  the  most 
laudatory  letters  of  introduction  to  Lewis  Cass,  then  Governor  of  the 
Territory,  which  at  once  secured  the  confidence  of  that  official,  who  com- 


fj2  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

missioned  Mr.  Stewart  a  Colonel  of  militia,  and  requested  his  aid  in 
organizing  the  then  unorganized  southern  portion  of  the  Territory. 
Through  Colonel  Stewart's  efforts  the  government  established  a  postal 
route  between  Tecumseh  and  Niles,  locating  ten  or  fifteen  offices,  and  the 
contract  for  carrying  the  mail  was  transferred  by  the  original  contractor  to 
Colonel  Stewart  and  his  brother  Alanson.  The  proceeds  of  the  offices  on 
the  route  were  the  compensation  for  the  service. 

In  1832  Colonel  Stewart  was  appointed  Judge  of  the  County  Court 
of  Saint  Joseph  county,  and  in  1833  he  was  commissioned  Circuit  Judge, 
officiating  in  that  capacity  until  1836.  The  first  application  of  the  Terri- 
tory of  Michigan  for  admission  as  a  State  was  denied  by  Congress,  on  the 
grounds  of  objectional  boundaries  fixed,  or  rather  adopted,  bj  the  Terri- 
torial convention.  A  second  convention,  therefore,  was  called  in 
November,  1833,  to  remodel  the  constitution.  Colonel  Stewart  was  a 
member  of  that  convention,  and  was  selected  by  it  to  visit  Washington, 
with  instructions  to  remain  there  until  the  admission  of  the  Territory  as  a 
State  was  secured.  Upon  his  return  from  this  mission  in  the  Spring  of 
1837  he  found  that  the  legislature  had  elected  him  Commissioner  of  Inter- 
nal Improvements,  in  which  capacity  he  had  charge  of  the  survey  of  the 
Saint  Joseph  river  for  slack  water  navigation,  and  of  the  laying  out  and 
partial  superintendence  of  the  construction  of  the  Michigan  Central 
railroad. 

Colonel  Stewart  was  in  command  of  a  Michigan  regiment  in  the 
Black  Hawk  war,  his  brother  Alanson  being  a  captain,  his  brother  Samuel 
a  lieutenant,  and  his  father,  then  sixty  years  old,  drill-master  under  him. 
In  1838  he  was  commissioned  Brigadier-General,  commanding  Fourteenth 
Brigade,  Michigan  militia.  In  1836  he  contracted  for  a  large  amount  of 
work  on  the  Illinois  and  Michigan  canal,  and  associated  with  him  his 
brother  A.  C.  Stewart,  Lorenzo  P.  Sanger  and  John  S.  Wallace. 

After  removing  to  Chicago,,  which  he  did  in  1840,  his  life  was  none 
the  less  active  than  before.  With  others  he  contracted,  in  1852,  to  con- 
struct  a  railroad  from  East  St.  Louis  to  Vincennes,  Indiana;  in  1853-4 
his  firm  contracted  to  build  a  railroad  from  St.  Louis  northwesterly  to 
the  Iowa  State  line;  and  in  1855  the  firm  entered  into  a  contract  with 
the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  Railroad  Company  for  building  their  line  from  St. 
Louis  via  Vandalia,  Illinois,  to  the  Wabash  river;  and  during  his  resi- 
dence in  this  city,  he  has  been  engaged  in  various  kinds  of  business, 
experiencing  a  variety  of  fortune,  being  sometimes  up  and  at  other  times 
down,  now  poor  and  again  rich,  but  always  aiming  to  build  up  the  city  of 
his  adoption. 

General  Stewart  has  been  a  member  of  the  State  legislature,  having 
been  sent  from  Chicago  in  1842.  From  1845  to  1849  he  was  postmaster 
under  President  Polk,  and  in  all  of  his  relations  of  life,  private  or  official, 
he  has  been  faithful  in  the  discharge  of  duty;  and  at  his  ripe  age,  the 
sweetest  words  in  language  to  ,the  human  ear  must  be  this  tribute  to 
character.  Since  1824  the  General  has  been  a  member  of  the  Masonic 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS   DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 


73 


fraternity,  and  has  taken  all  the  Chapter  and  Encampment  degrees,  with 
many  of  the  Ineffable  and  Perfection  degrees,  and  during  all  his  business 
life  has  been  more  or  less  identified  with  the  leading  spirits  of  the  order  in 
the  West. 

It  is  to  be  sincerely  regretted  that  an  opportunity  is  not  given  for  a 
fuller  sketch  of  a  life  which  has  been  so  fertile  of  benefit  to  the  world, 
and  to  draw  the  many  valuable  lessons  which  it  teaches.  But  perhaps 
enough  has  been  said  to  impress  the  young  who  may  chance  to  read  these 
lines,  with  the  necessity  of  industry  and  uprightness,  if  in  the  decline  of 
life  they  would  enjoy  the  plaudits  of  their  fellow  men.  The  life  of  Gen- 
eral Hart  L.  Stewart  has  been  signally  illustrative  of  what  a  beautiful 
harvest  the  culture  of  these  virtues  will  insure. 


74 


HENRY  J.  GOODRICH. 

« 

Among  the  most  difficult  spheres  in  which  success  can  be  achieved, 
especially  in  a  new  and  rapidly  developing  community — where  the  spirit 
of  speculation  is  apt  at  times  to  inflate  values  beyond  all  reasonable  hope 
of  permanency — is  the  business  of  handling  real  estate.  The  history  of 
transactions  in  the  reality  of  Chicago  is  thickly  strewn  with  financial  wrecks 
and  blighted  hopes.  Indeed  the  men  who  have  weathered  all  the  storms 
that  have  burst  upon  the  business,  and  retained  the  confidence  of  the 
public,  are  conspicuously  few;  and  that  few  are  richly  entitled  to  be  con- 
sidered safe  counselors  and  managers  in  business  affairs  under  the  most 
perplexing  circumstances.  There  is  no  calling  that  demands  so  much 
of  that  cool,  calm  judgment  and  penetrating  insight  into  every  condition, 
immediate  and  I'emote,  and  so  much  of  that  accurate  measurement  of  pos- 
sibilities and  probabilities,  which  distinguish  successful  commanders  of 
great  armies,  as  a  profitable  traffic  in  the  real  estate  of  a  young  and 
rapidly  growing  city  like  Chicago.  Locations  which  to  the  inexperienced 
eye  are  comparatively  valueless,  are  rated  high  by  the  keen  judgment 
of  him  who  has  studied  the  inevitable  growth  of  the  city;  the  probable 
direction  of  trade  in  general,  or  of  certain  branches  of  it;  the  public 
improvements  which  time  must  develop,  and  a  multitude  of  circumstances 
which  will  affect  the  value,  and  which  are  discerned  in  the  future.  On 
the  other  hand  the  safe  and  reliable  dealer  in  real  estate  must  have  the 
strength  of  character  to  withstand  the  flattering  promises  of  speculative 
eras,  and  to  keep  his  judgment  unclouded  and  his  honesty  untarnished  in 
times  that  are  tempestuous  as  well  as  when  the  most  perfect  calm  rests 
upon  the  commercial  world.  In  all  of  these  attributes  of  mind  and  char- 
acter Henry  J.  Goodrich,  the  subject  of  this  -sketch,  is  pre-eminently 
endowed.  One  of  the  most  prominent,  extensive  and  successful  dealers 
in  real  estate  who  has  ever  operated  in  this  city,  his  name  is  intimately 
associated  with  the  purchase  and  sale  of  much  of  our  most  valuable 
property,  and  is  synonymous  with  fair  and  honorable  dealing  through 
many  years  of  active  business.  Indeed,  sturdiness  of  character,  the  strict 
observance  of  principle  in  action  and  a  fidelity  in  the  discharge  of  duty  are 
the  natural  inheritance  of  our  subject  from  an  ancestry  possessing  these  traits 
in  an  eminent  degree.  When  Worcester  county,  Massachusetts,  now  one 
of  the  richest  and  most  influential  in  that  old  commonwealth,  was  new 
in  settlement  and  name,  a  family  of  spirit,  intellectual  and  physical 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  75 

energy,  and  with  willingness  to  respond  to  the  call  of  duty,  wherever  it 
might  lead,  was  among  the  first  settlers.  Its  name  figures  in  the  history 
of  French,  Indian  and  Revolutionary  wars — always  laureled  with  patriot- 
ism and  the  gratitude  of  advancing  civilization — and  is  also  prominent  in 
the  record  of  local  development.  This  was  the  Goodrich  family  which 
furnished  the  immediate  ancestry  of  Henry  J.  Goodrich.  It  was  also 
a  branch  of  the  family  which  became  famous  from  the  renown  of  the 
familiar  name,  "Peter  Parley." 

Henry  Jefferson  Goodrich,  son  of  Phineas  and  Nancy  Goodrich,  was 
born  January  23d,  1840,  and  received  a  common  school  education  in  the 
district  schools  of  New  England.  In  1855  he  entered  the  University  at 
Fairfax,  Vermont,  now  the  Hampton  Literary  and  Theological  Institute. 
After  three  years  of  study  at  this  institution,  he  was  compelled  by  reason 
•of  sickness  to  leave  Fairfax,  and  so  doing,  resided  in  St.  Albans,  Vermont, 
for  one  year.  After  reading  law  for  a  time  with  Judge  White,  he  removed 
in  1859  to  Foxboro,  Massachusetts,  where  he  had  access  to  the  library 
of  his  brother-in-law,  the  Reverend  N.  S.  Dickinson,  a  Congregational 
clergyman,  who  took  a  deep  interest  in  his  welfare.  These  facilities 
young  Goodrich  improved  to  the  utmost,  and  to  them  he  is  very  largely 
indebted  for  the  fund  of  general  information  which  he  possesses. 

At  the  close  of  the  war  for  the  preservation  of  the  Union,  in  which 
he  served  with  distinction,  Mr.  Goodrich  became  chief  clerk  in  the 
Palmer  House,  Indianapolis,  Indiana,1  in  which  he  also  held  an  interest. 
Leaving  Indianapolis,  he  afterward  became  clerk  of  the  old  Spencer 
House  on  Broadway,  in  Cincinnati,  Ohio.  In  August,  1865,  however,  he 
came  to  Chicago,  and  immediately  formed  a  co-partnership  with  Honorable 
J.  Esias  Warren,  under  the  name  of  Warren  &  Goodrich,  doing  business 
under  that  style  until  1870,  when  the  firm  dissolved  by  mutual  consent, 
and  since  that  time,  with  the  exception  of  special  partnerships,  Mr.  Good- 
rich has  done  business  alone.  His  extensive  business  includes  the  agency 
of  some  of  the  largest  foreign  estates  in  the  city -and  of  Eastern  and 
Southern  capitalists  owning  property  here.  In  addition  to  this,  and  to 
his  steady  purchase  and  sale  of  real  estate,  he  has  somehow  found  time 
to  act  as  assignee  in  important  cases  of  bankruptcy,  to  raise  the  capital 
for  several  coal  and  iron  companies,  and  to  do  considerable  valuable  writ- 
ing upon  the  subject  of  Chicago  real  estate,  his  "Doings  in  Real  Estate," 
published  in  the  old  PRICE  CURRENT,  in  1865,  being  particularly  notable. 
But  his  business  has  been  almost  wholly  that  of  a  dealer  in  real  estate, 
of  which  he  has  been  a  close  and  practical  student.  Instead  of  following 
the  business  merely  as  a  source  of  gain,  it  seems  always  to  have  been  his 
pride  to  reduce  it  to  a  science,  that  his  judgment  might  always  rest  upon 
well  established  "business  principles  and  not  upon  uncertainty.  The  esteem 
in  which  his  judgment  concerning  the  values,  present  and  prospective, 
of  real  estate  is  universally  held,  is  evidence  that  he  has  accomplished  this 
commendable  object.  It  is  very  certain  that  the  opinion  of  no  man  in 
•Chicago  in  real  estate  matters  has  greater  weight  than  his. 


j6  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

While  his  business  absorbs  much  of  his  time  and  demands  the  best 
energies  of  his  mind,  he  is  yet  active  in  those  walks  of  life  in  which  those 
mellowing  influences,  so  necessary  for  the  good  of  individual  character 
and  the  elevation  of  mankind,  are  found  and  are  active.  Membership 
in  Blaney  Lodge  No.  271  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons — one  of 
the  finest  and  most  wealthy  lodges  in  the  United  States;  of  Fairview 
Chapter  No.  161  Royal  Arch  Masons — of  which  he  is  one  of  the  char- 
ter members — and  of  Apollo  Commandery,  No.  i  Knight  Templar,  is 
of  a  character  to  show  his  susceptibility  to  the  claims  of  the  beautiful 
and  more  gentle  influences  of  life.  He  is  also  treasurer  of  the  Masonic 
Holy  Land  League,  which  was  instituted  in  1867,  and  has  for  its  object 
the  promotion  of  expeditions  to  the  Orient  to  collect  facts  and  traditions 
that  will  shed  light  upon  Free  Masonry  and  the  Holy  Scriptures.  This 
organization  has  a  membership  of  over  fifteen  thousand  persons  residing  in 
Europe  and  the  United  States,  and  the  position  which  Mr.  Goodrich  holds 
in  it,  shows  how  greatly  he  is  esteemed  by  the  brethren.  Mr.  Goodrich 
has  always  been,  too,  a  liberal  donor  to  charities,  but  giving  in  that  quiet, 
unostentatious  way  that  indicates  genuine  generosity  of  heart. 

October  i7th,  1867,  at  LaGrange,  Kentucky,  Mr.  Goodrich  was 
married  to  Charlotte  F.  Morris,  the  eldest  daughter  of  Robert  Morris, 
L.  L.  D.,  Past  Grand  Master  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Masons  of  Kentucky, 
and  the  well  known  Masonic  author.  Mrs.  Goodrich  is  a  native  of  Mis- 
sissippi, but  removed  with  her  parents  to  Kentucky  while  a  child,  and 
was  educated  at  Louisville.  She  is  highly  accomplished  and  a  very 
superior  ladv.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Goodrich  have  one  child,  Charlotte  Maud. 

It  is  to  such  men  as  he  whose  life  is  thus  briefly  sketched,  that  Chi- 
cago is  so  greatly  indebted  for  its  prosperity  and  position  among  the  great 
municipalities  of  the  world;  men  of  complete  self-possession  under  all 
circumstances,  which  can  only  come  from  accurate  knowledge  of  at  least 
the  special  branch  of  business  in  which  they  may  be  engaged;  men  of 
unsullied  honor  and  unbending  honesty,  and  withal  men  of  generous 
impulses  of  heart.  These  are  the  prominent  traits  of  representative  Chi- 
cago character,  and  to  none  do  they  belong  in  more  conspicuous  prominence 
than  to  Henry  J.  Goodrich. 


77 


IRA  BROWN. 

Success  in  life  always  receives  a  merited  homage.  The  general  from 
his  victories;  the  statesman  wearing  the  laurels  of  triumphant  diplomacy; 
the  orator  whose  burning  words  have  charmed,  and  whose  logic  has  con- 
vinced; the  artist  whose  brush  has  touched  the  canvas  with  life  and  beauty; 
the  merchant  who  has  risen  to  princely  affluence;  whoever,  indeed,  has 
stepped  above  the  level,  is  sure  of  the  world's  regard,  and  to  a  degree  that 
it  becomes  scarcely  distinguishable  from  worship.  Nor  is  such  feeling 
prompted  by  the  brilliancy  of  the  achievement.  Men  do  not  worship 
the  results  of  life;  it  is  the  life  itself  that  becomes  the  idol.  It  is  not 
the  granite  shaft  on  Bunker  Hill  that  awes  us  into  reverence,  but  it  is  the 
shadow  of  the  intellect  and  patriotism  which  made  that  monument  possible 
that  prompts  us  to  tread  lightly  and  to  speak  softly  at  its  base.  Whenever 
mighty  results  are  apparent,  mighty  intellect  is  discernible  in  the  back- 
ground ;  and  it  is  upon  it  that  the  eye  centers.  Success  is  methodical.  There 
is  no  such  thing  as  chance  victories  in  life;  and  knowing  this,  however 
prone  the  mind  may  be  to  indulge  in  fancies  to  the  contrary,  it  desires  to 
know  something  of  the  man  who  has  baffled  the  siege  of  difficulties  which 
surrounds  almost  every  one,  caring  little  for  the  achievements  themselves. 
The  obelisk  is  beautiful,  but  who  built  it?  soliloquizes  the  beholder.  The 
statue  is  life-like  and  eloquent,  but  whose  hand  held  the  chisel  and  whose 
mind  directed  its  movements?  The  city  or  village  may  be  a  Rome  in 
architectural  splendor,  and  a  bower  in  natural  beauty,  but  the  mind  turns 
from  the  magnificence  to  learn  something  of  the  founder  and  designer. 

Ira  Brown  must  be  placed  in  the  list  of  Chicago's  most  successful  men, 
and  in  view  of  that  fact,  the  usual  interest  attaches  to  his  life  that  there 
does  to  the  lives  of  others  who  have  been  successful,  and  for  the  reasons 
already  stated.  When  we  consider  that  Mr.  Brown  successfully  rode  out 
the  financial  storm  of  1873,  and  although  suffering  severe  losses  in  the 
shrinkage  of  real  estate  values,  yet  saved  a  handsome  fortune  from  what 
might  be  termed  the  general  wreck,  and  that,  too,  when  others  similarly 
situated  were  utterly  unable  to  extricate  themselves,  and  were  compelled 
to  seek  refuge  in  the  bankruptcy  courts,  his  pre-eminent  abilities  as  a 
business  man  stand  out  in  the  business  community  in  decided  bold  relief. 
But  his  entire  life,  since  his  arrival  in  Chicago,  has  pointed  in  this  direction. 
His  enterprise  has  been  restless  and  really  brilliant;  his  judgment  has  been 
unerring,  and  his  foresight  has  been  distinguished  for  capability  of  pene- 


78  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

trating  the  future  with  remarkable  certainty.  In  1853,  when  a  boy  of  only 
nineteen  years  of  age,  he  came  to  Chicago,  and  began  life  for  himself, 
becoming  first  a  clerk  in  one  of  the  hotels,  and  then  proprietor  of  the 
house.  Disposing  of  this  business,  he  entered  upon  a  mercantile  life,  which 
some  years  later  he  abandoned  for  the  purpose  of  giving  his  entire  atten- 
tion to  his  large  real  estate  interests,  of  which  he  had  gradually  become 
possessed.  His  belief  in  the  ultimate  greatness  of  the  city  induced  him, 
while  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business,  to  invest  his  spare  capital  in 
suburban  property,  and  subsequent  history  has  proven  the  wisdom  of  such 
a  course.  Nothing,  indeed,  could  more  clearly  show  the  characteristic 
ability  and  keen  perception  of  the  man,  than  this  deliberate  escape  from 
land  speculation  in  the  city,  to  the  quiet  and  beautiful  suburbs,  now  known 
as  LaGrange,  Desplaines,  Thornton,  Evanston,  Lake  Side,  Glencoe,  Park 
Ridge  and  Hyde  Park,  in  each  of  which  he  is  the  owner  of  a  great  deal 
of  land  which  has  been  divided  into  house  lots,  and  is  sold,  if  the  purchaser 
desires,  on  the  monthly  installment  plan,  a  system  first  introduced  by  Mr. 
Brown  himself.  At  this  writing  the  value  of  all  this  property  is  easily 
discernible  by  even  the  most  inexperienced,  and  it  is  not  difficult  to  esti- 
mate its  constant  and  rapid  increase  of  value  while  Chicago  remains  the 
great  and  growing  metropolis  it  now  is.  But  years  ago,  when  much  of 
it  was  first  purchased  by  Mr.  Brown,  its  value  was  almost  nothing,  as  com- 
pared to  its  present  worth,  and  only  two  classes  of  men  would  have 
purchased  it  at  the  price  paid  per  acre :  the  extremely  reckless,  or  the  extra- 
ordinarily sagacious.  Mr.  Brown  was  of  the  latter.  Reasoning  that  there 
would  yet  be  a  demand  for  suburban  homes  by  two  classes  of  people — the 
rich  who  would  retreat  before  the  growth  and  inconveniences  of  a  com- 
mercial city,  and  those  whose  means  would  not  permit  them  to  secure 
homes  upon  the  high  priced  lands  of  a  metropolis,  he  fearlessly  invested  his 
money,  and  having  sown  the  seed,  sat  down  to  patiently  wait  for  the 
harvest.  Under  the  most  ordinary  circumstances  the  harvest  would  have 
been  by  this  time  a  bountiful  one,  and  a  monument  to  the  sagacity  of  the 
mind  that  conceived  it  possible.  But  fortunately  for  Mr.  Brown,  the  great 
fire  of  1871  was  an  extraordinary  circumstance,  which,  together  with  the 
fire  ordinance  which  resulted,  advanced  the  value  of  his  acre  property 
about  one  thousand  per  cent.  Had  .he  been  other  than  a  fair  and  honorable 
man,  disdaining  to  take  an  unjust  advantage  of  his  fellow  citizens'  adver- 
sity, he  might  have  asked  and  received  a  much  greater  advance.  But  at 
that  time,  and  since,  while  enjoying  a  legitimate  profit  upon  his  investment, 
towns  and  individuals  have  been  immensely  benefited  through  his  well 
established  rule  of  business — to  live  and  let  live. 

Mr.  Brown  handles  nothing  but  his  own  property,  and  his  extensive 
business  monopolizes  the  whole  time  that  he  has  to  give  to  business.  Un- 
like the  majority  of  men,  however,  with  such  large  personal  enterprises  in 
progress,  he  never  neglects  to  attend  to  duties  of  a  public  nature,  when  their 
discharge  clearly  devolves  upon  him.  His  willingness  in  this  direction 
was  illustrated  by  his  devotion  to  the  erection  of  the  Ada  Street  Methodist 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  79 

Church.  As  President  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  and  Chairman  of  the 
Building  Committee,  his  labors  in  behalf  of  the  church  were  indefatigable, 
nor  did  they  cease  until  the  site  of  the  church  was  located,  and  he  had 
furnished  the  means  for  the  erection  of  the  present  edifice.  This  church  is 
very  largely  indebted  to  Mr.  Brown  for  its  present  prosperity.  Indeed 
the  Methodist  denomination  in  this  section  owes  very  much  to  his  public 
spirit  and  practical  Christianity,  for  he  was  a  prime  mover  in  locating  the 
grounds  and  in  inaugurating  the  celebrated  camp  meetings  at  Desplaines. 

Although  thus  prominently  identified  with  the  development  of  Chi- 
cago, and  ranked  among  its  most  substantial  citizens,  Mr.  Brown  is  yet  a 
young  man.  He  was  born  at  Perrysburgh,  Ohio,  January  25th,  1835,  and 
was  educated  at  Defiance  in  that  State,  near  which  his  father,  who  also 
bears  the  name  of  Ira,  now  resides  upon  and  manages  a  fine  stock  farm. 
The  mother  of  our  subject  was  Harriet  Loughborough,  who  was  born  and 
married  in  Rochester,  New  York,  and  comes  from  a  family  which  is  well 
and  favorably  known  in  that  State.  William  S.  Loughborough,  a  brother, 
is  a  prominent  lawyer  in  Rochester,  and  Barton  Loughborough,  anothfe, 
brother,  has  occupied  the  responsible  position  of  Warden  of  the  State 
Prison  at  Auburn,  for  many  years. 

Both  branches  of  the  family  are  distinguished  for  longevity.  The 
paternal  grandmother  of  our  subject  lived  to  the  age  of  one  hundred  and 
ten  years,  and  his  maternal  grandmother  died  when  ninety-three  years  old. 
His  father  has  already  reached  the  ripe  age  of  seventy-three  years. 

Mr.  Brown  was  married  on  the  twelfth  of  January,  1862,  at  Chicago, 
to  Delphi  K.  Brown,  who  was  a  Lousianian,  and  the  daughter  of  a  promi- 
nent secessionist.  Miss  Brown's  family  was  temporarily  stopping  here,  at 
that  time,  and  the  union  which  was  thus  effected  between  the  North  and  the 
South  has  never  been  a  cause  of  regret  to  the  contracting  parties  or  their 
friends.  Mrs.  Brown  is  an  accomplished  and  typical  Southern  lady,  who 
has  always  been  a  sympathetic  wife  of  a  busy  and  successful  husband,, 
whose  enterprise  has  made  his  name  as  familiar  in  Chicago  as  that  of  any 
of  her  honored  citizens. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


RAILROADS. 

Our  railroads  are  arteries  through  which  flow  the  life  current  of 
Chicago.  To  the  vast  network  of  iron  track  centering  here,  and  ex- 
tending all  over  the  country,  Chicago  owes,  in  a  great  measure,  her  pre- 
eminent greatness  and  prosperity.  It  is  not  uncommon  to  hear  the  opinion 
•expressed  that  she  is  wholly  indebted  for  being  what  she  is,  to  her  majestic 
system  of  railways ;  and  while  it  is  true  that  without  such  assistance,  Chicago 
could  never  have  achieved  so  much  and  so  brilliantly,  it  is  not  true  that 
«he  owes  her  progress  and  prospects  to  any  one  element  or  impulse. 
Her  schools,  churches,  newspapers,  fertile  surrounding  fields,  persistent 
enterprise  and  integrity  have  all  entered  into  the  composition  of  the 
root  which  has  fed  the  luxuriant  tree.  Take  away  either,  and  Chicago, 
"brilliant  as  she  is,  powerful  as  she  is,  prosperous  as  she  is,  gradually  fades 
away  into  insignificance  and  ultimate  oblivion.  Her  railroads  are 
.arteries,  but  not  the  only  ones.  They  link  her  to  the  furthermost 
parts  of  the  continent,  and  make  her  the  possible  rival  of  the  seaboard 
metropolis  of  America,  and  when  the  traveler  steps  to  the  ticket  office  of 
a  Chicago  railroad,  and  purchases  a  ticket  to  almost  any  part  of  the  world, 
he  begins  to  realize  that  the  "star  of  empire"  has  taken  its  way  westward, 
until  upon  this  rude  spot  of  fifty  years  ago,  is  centered  the  power  of,  the 
American  nation,  and  that  the  iron  track  and  the  locomotive  have  made 
the  achievement  possible.  The  Illinois  and  Michigan  canal  was  the  day- 
break of  Chicago — her  railroads  are  her  noon. 

The  old  Galena  and  Chicago  Union  road  was  the  pioneer  line.  This 
road  was  chartered  by  the  legislature  in  -1836,  and  but  for  the  financial 
•crash  that  followed,  the  work  of  its  construction  would  have  been  at  once 
commenced.  The  panic,  however,  necessitated  delay,  and  the  first  rail  on 
the  line  now  known  as  the  Freeport  line,  was  not  laid  until  1847,  m<*re 
than  ten  years  after  the  charter  had  been  granted.  The  work  of  construc- 
tion even  then  proceeded  with  tedious  slowness,  and  it  was  not  until  1853 
that  the  entire  road  from  Chicago  to  Freeport — one  hundred  and  twenty- 
one  miles — was  completed.  From  Freeport  it  reached  Galena  the  follow- 
ing year,  over  a  newly  built  section  of  the  Illinois  Central  road,  and  the 
rich  lead  mines  of  Galena,  now  brought  to  the  door  of  the  young  city, 
gave  encouragement  to  the  people  and  offered  additional  inducements  to 
immigration.  Still,  there  was  a  slow  appreciation  of  the  advantages  which 
Eastern  railroad  connection  would  confer.  While  it  would  seem  that  the 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  Si 

results  of  the  canal  and  the  railroad  would  prompt  the  people  to  attempt 
to  dig  canals  and  build  railroads  in  all  directions,  it  was  not  so.  Perhaps 
poverty  had  a  vast  deal  to  do  with  such  lukewarmness,  but  in  our  day, 
when  poverty  leaps  over  the  most  formidable  obstacles,  and  clothes  itself 
in  the  splendors  of  wealth,  we  can  scarcely  comprehend  that  so  poor  an 
excuse  could  be  given  for  a  lack  of  enthusiasm  in  connecting  Chicago  with 
the  East.  In  truth  this,  was  not  the  cause,  which  was  found  in  that  im- 
perfect foresight  which  led  to  the  belief  that  the  lake  would  furnish  all  the 
means  of  transportation  Eastward  that  Chicago  would  ever  require.  The 
neglect  to  seek  railroad  connection  with  other  important  points  of  the 
country,  is  the  isolated  instance  of  Chicago  failing  to  be  enterprising  and 
to  comprehend  the  future.  While  she  should  have  seen  that  to  be  great 
she  must  become  a  railroad  center,  she  was  asleep  in  this  respect,  and  no 
one  can  tell  how  long  she  would  have  slept,  if  she  had  not  been  awakened 
by  Eastern  capitalists,  who  saw  her  need,  and  the  profit  of  supplying  it. 
It  is,  however,  to  the  credit  of  Chicago  as  a  corporate  body,  that  she  steered 
clear  of  the  evil  which  so  many  municipalities  have  suffered  under — 
pecuniary  entanglement  with  railroad  enterprises. 

The  Illinois  Central  was  the  next  important  railroad  project.  This 
was  intended  to  run  from  Chicago  to  Cairo,  a  distance  of  three  hundred 
and  sixty-five  miles,  and  from  Centralia  to  the  northern  limit  of  the  State, 
making  a  total  distance  of  seven  hundred  and  four  miles.  Congress  was 
applied  to  to  aid  in  its  construction,  and  through  the  efforts  of  Stephen  A. 
Douglas,  passed  an  act  in  1850  granting  to  the  State  of  Illinois  for  the 
purpose,  two  million,  five  hundred  and  ninety-five  thousand  acres  of  land. 
The  legislature  thereupon  chartered  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company 
by  act  passed  the  tenth  of  February,  1851,  and  transferred  to  it  the  lands 
granted  by  Congress,  upon  conditions  that  the  road  should  be  constructed 
within  a  certain  limit  of  time,  and  that  the  State  should  be  paid  seven  per 
cent,  of  the  gross  earnings  of  the  road  forever.  In  the  year  following  the 
granting  of  the  charter,  the  company  secured  the  right  of  way  into  the  city 
along  the  lake  shore,  and  immediately  proceeded  with  the  construction  of 
the  breakwater  to  which  reference  has  been  made  in  a  former  chapter.  The 
space  between  the  shore  and  the  breakwater  was  afterward  filled  in,  and 
the  magnificent  depot  of  the  company — which  was  destroyed  by  fire  in 
1871 — was  afterward  erected  upon  a  portion  of  this  made  land.  The  road 
proper,  with  its  leased  lines,  is  now  fourteen  hundred  miles  long,  and  is 
among  the  very  best  railroad  property  in  the  country. 

The  first  railroad  connection  with  the  East  was  furnished  by  the 
Northern  Indiana  railroad,  now  a  part  of  the  Lake  Shore  and  Michigan 
Southern.  In  February,  1835,  a  company  was  incorporated  in  the  State 
of  Indiana  under  the  name  of  the  Buffalo  and  Mississippi  Railroad  Com- 
pany. In  1837  the  name  was  changed  to  that  first  mentioned.  Its  con- 
tinuance from  the  State  of  Indiana  into  Illinois  and  Chicago  was  hastened 
by  a  desire  on  the  part  of  the  people  living  around  the  bend  of  the  lake  in 
Northern  Indiana,  to  have  a  rival  road  to  the  Michigan  Central,  which  in 


$2  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

1852  was  being  rapidly  pushed  toward  Chicago.  The  people  referred 
to  opposed  the  extension  of  the  Michigan  Central  to  Chicago,  for 
the  reason  that  they  wished  Chicago's  Eastern  railroad  connection  to 
pass  through  their  section  and  connect  with  Toledo,  and  they  did  not 
believe  that  there  would  be  business  enough  to  support  two  lines.  But  the 
Michigan  Central  was  pushed  with  enterprise  from  its  first  conception.  In 
1842,  the  year  it  was  projected,  the  road  was  built  from  Detroit  to  Ypsilanti, 
in  Michigan,  and  was  afterward  extended  to  St.  Joseph.  When  it  was 
decided,  therefore,  that  the  road  should  extend  to  Chicago — which  decision 
was  made  as  soon  as  it  became  evident  to  those  interested,  that  a  Chicago 
connection  would  pay — the  road  simply  followed  the  dictates  of  its  character 
for  enterprise  by  inaugurating  the  work  at  once  and  completing  it  as  soon 
as  possible.  The  Indiana  people,  who  had  bitterly  opposed  the  extension, 
seeing  that  they  could  not  prevent  it,  determined  to  have  their  road  reach 
the  city  first,  and  they  succeeded.  What  is  now  the  Lake  Shore  and 
Michigan  Southern,  reached  Chicago  as  an  extension  of  the  Northern  In- 
diana railroad  on  the  twentieth  of  February,  1852,  while  the  last  rail  of 
the  Michigan  Central  was  not  laid  until  the  twenty-first  of  May  following. 

The  Lake  Shore  and  Michigan  Southern,  now  one  of  what  are  known 
as  the  Vanderbilt  railroads,  has  only  fourteen  miles  of  distance  in  Illinois, 
but  is  so  closely  connected  with  the  history  of  Chicago  and  the  State,  that 
it  is  usually  considered  an  Illinois  road.  Its  history  is  as  follows:  In  Feb- 
ruary, 1855,  an  agreement  of  consolidation  was  made  and  entered  into 
between  the  Northern  Indiana  and  Chicago  Railrftad  Company  of  Illinois, 
the  Northern  Indiana  Company  of  Ohio  and  Indiana,  and  the  Board  of 
Commissioners  of  the  Western  Division  of  the  Buffalo  and  Mississippi  Rail- 
road Company  of  Indiana,  the  consolidated  organization  assuming  the 
title  of  the  Northern  Indiana  Railroad  Company.  This  consolidation 
was  further  supplemented  in  April,  1855,  by  a  union  with  the  Michigan 
Southern  Railroad  Company,  and  the  new  organization  was  officially 
recognized  as  the  Michigan  Southern  and  Northern  Indiana  Railroad 
Company,  under  which  title  the  road  was  operated  until  1869,  when  the 
whole  road  from  Erie  to  Chicago  was  consolidated,  under  the  name  of 
Lake  Shore  and  Michigan  Southern  railroad. 

The  main  line  of  the  Michigan  Central  railroad  extends  from  Detroit 
to  Calumet,  two  hundred  and  seventy  miles,  and  it  runs  from  that  point  to 
Chicago  over  the  Illinois  Central  railroad,  fourteen  miles;  but  the  company 
also  leases  the  Joliet  and  Indiana  railroad,  forty-five  miles;  the  Grand 
River  Valley  railroad,  Jackson  to  Grand  Rapids,  ninety-four  miles;  the 
Jackson,  Lansing  and  Saginaw  railroad,  Rives  Junction  to  Otsego  Lake, 
two  hundred  and  fifteen  miles;  Michigan  Air-Line  railroad,  Jackson  to 
Niles,  one  hundred  and  three  miles;  South  Bend  Division,  Niles  to  South 
Bend,  ten  miles;  Kalamazoo  and  South  Haven  railroad,  Kalamazoo  to 
South  Haven,  thirty-nine  miles;  total  length  of  road  operated  under  one 
management,  seven  hundred  and  ninety  miles,  of  which  six  hundred  and 
seventy-four  are  situated  in  the  State  of  Michigan,  and  are  exclusive  of 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  S-2 

double  track,  sidings,  etc.  During  the  four  years  ending  December  31, 
1869,  tne  Michigan  Central  Railroad  Company  in  its  corporate  capacity 
assisted  the  construction  of  the  Jackson,  Lansing  and  Saginaw,  Grand 
River  Valley,  Kalamazoo  and  South  Haven,  and  Michigan  Air-Line 
railroads,  and  these  lines  are  now  operated  by  it. 

What  is  now  known  as  the  Chicago,  Rock  Island  and  Pacific  railroad 
had  its  start  in  Illinois  in  a  charter  granted  in  1847  to  a  company  under  the 
name  of  the  Rock  Island  and  LaSalle  Railroad  Company.  By  an  act  of 
the  legislature  the  title  of  the  company  was  changed  in  1851  to  the  Chicago 
and  Rock  Island  Company,  and  when  in  1866  this  company  consolidated 
with  the  Chicago,  Rock  Island  and  Pacific  Railroad  Company  of  Iowa,  a 
new  company  was  formed,  and  the  name  of  the  Iowa  company  adopted. 
The  Chicago  and  Rock  Island  was  completed  between  the  two  cities  in 
1854,  having  been  commenced  in  1852. 

From  the  American  Railroad  Manual  we  learn  that  the  line  of  road 

from  Joliet  to  Alton — now  a  part  of  the  Chicago  and  Alton  railroad 

"was  built  under  the  charters  of  the  Alton  and  Sangamon,  and  Chicago 
and  Mississippi  Railroad  Companies.  The  charter  of  the  first-named 
company  covered  the  road  from  Alton  to  Springfield,  and  it  is  believed 
that  this  portion  of  the  line  was  commenced  in  1849,  and  completed  in 
1852,  with  the  proceeds  of  bona  fide  local  subscriptions  to  stock,  under  the 
management  of  a  local  board  of  directors.  After  the  completion  of  the 
road  to  Springfield,  a  new  charter  was  obtained  for  extending  the  line  to 
Bloomington,  and  contracts  for  the  construction  were  let  to  a  Mr.  Godfrey, 
of  Alton,  who,  subsequently  becoming  embarrassed,  or  for  other  reasons 
not  definitely  known,  retired  from  his  connection  with  the  road,  assigning 
his  contract  to  Henry  Dwight,  of  New  York.  This  gentleman  con- 
ceived the  idea  of  extending  the  road  to  Joliet,  and  making  a  connection  at 
that  point  for  Chicago  and  the  East."  This  was  done  in  1854,  Chicago 
being  reached  from  Joliet  over  the  track  of  the  Chicago  and  Rock  Island 
road.  In  1857  the  Chicago  and  Alton  built  an  independent  track. 

The  line  of  railroad  owned  and  operated  by  the  Chicago,  Burlington 
and  Quincy  Company,  and  embracing,  with  its  various  branches,  leased 
lines,  sidings,  etc.,  more  than  one  thousand  miles  of  track,  was  constructed 
under  various  charters,  dating  from  February  I2th,  1849,  in  which  year  the 
Aurora  Branch  Railroad  Company  was  incorporated.  The  Chicago  and 
Aurora  Railroad  Company  obtained  its  charter  in  June,  1852,  and  after 
building  the  road  from  Chicago  to  Aurora,  formed  a  consolidation,  in  July, 
18^6,  with  what  was  then  known  as  the  Central  Military  Tract  Railroad 
Company,  which  owned  the  road  from  Mendota  to  Galesburg,  the  new 
consolidated  organization  assuming  the  title  now  held  by  the  company,  viz.» 
Chicago,  Burlington  and  Quincy  Railroad  Company. 

The  history  of  the  Northwestern  railroad  is  a  story  of  consolidation 
but  as  connected  with  a  history  of  Chicago,  it  is  not  necessary  to  say  more 
concerning  it  than  has  already  been  said  of  the  Galena  and  Chicago  Union 
— which  was  absorbed  by  the  Chicago  and  Northwestern  in  June,  1864 — 


84  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

except  to  mention  the  fact  that  the  line  from  Chicago  to  Milwaukee  was 
built  in  1854.  The  road  is  an  extensive  system  of  railroads  within  itself, 
and  the  remark  is  sometimes  made  that  it  runs  all  over  the  Northwest. 

The  Pittsburgh,  Fort  Wayne  and  Chicago  Railroad  Company  was 
incorporated  in  1852  and  completed  in  1856.  The  company,  so  far  as 
Illinois  is  concerned,  was  incorporated  in  the  year  mentioned,  under  the 
name  of  the  Fort  Wayne  and  Chicago  Railroad  Company,  with  authority 
to  build  a  road  from  the  western  terminus  of  the  Ohio  and  Indiana  rail- 
road to  Chicago.  In  1856  these  two  companies,  and  the  Ohio  and  Pennsyl- 
vania Railroad  Company  consolidated  under  the  title  which  the  road  now 
bears. 

The  Chicago,  Milwaukee  and  St.  Paul  railroad  was  opened  for 
business  from  Chicago  to  Milwaukee  in  the  Spring  of  1873.  Previous  to 
that  the  Milwaukee  and  St.  Paul  road  had  been  dependent  upon  the 
Chicago  and  Northwestern  for  facilities  to  reach  Chicago  from  Milwaukee. 
The  Baltimore  and  Ohio  railroad  was  extended  to  Chicago  in  1874. 
The  Grand  Trunk  railroad,  formerly  compelled  to  use  the  tracks  of  the 
Michigan  Central  from  Detroit  to  Chicago,  now  owns  an  independent  line 
from  Port  Huron  to  this  point.  The  Chicago,  Danville  and  Vincennes 
Railroad  Company  was  chartered  in  the  Winter  of  1865-6,  with  authority 
to  construct  a  railroad  from  Chicago  to  Danville,  Illinois,  and  there  to  con- 
nect with  other  roads  running  to  Terre  Haute  and  Vincennes,  Indiana,  but 
the  entire  road  was  not  completed  until  1872.  The  Chicago  and  Western 
Indiana  railroad  entered  Chicago  in  1880. 

There  are  numerous  other  roads  with  headquarters  in  the  city,  but 
which  are  not  strictly  Chicago  roads,  and  it  has  not  been  deemed  necessary 
to  mention  them,  although  it  is  not  forgotten  that  in  their  union  with 
Chicago  roads,  over  whose  tracks  they  are  enabled  to  extend  themselves  to 
this  great  center,  they  play  a  prominent  part  in  making  the  vast  railroad 
system  which  is  the  pride  of  our  people. 


....••••-.,.. 


DANIEL  H.  HALE. 


The  life  which  we  shall  here  sketch  has  been  the  embodiment  and 
grand  example  of  that  restless  but  judicious  enterprise  which  has  made 
the  development  of  cities  and  countries  like  our  own,  matters  of  brilliant 
record;  enterprise  which  lays  alike  native  and  foreign  resources  under 
tribute  to  our  material  advancement,  and  imbues  not  only  a  community 
but  the  world  with  vigorous  impulses.  Chicago,  the  youngest  of  our 
great  cities,  is  yet  the  most  famous,  and  for  the  reason  that  the  aggregate 
of  her  intellectual  forces,  comprehensive  enterprises  and  attributes  of 
character  have  astonished  the  world.  Three  times  built — once  upon  an 
uninviting  prairie,  and  twice  upon  the  smouldering  ruins  of  herself — 
adorned  with  colossal  buildings  of  the  most  beautiful  architecture,  the 
center  of  the  greatest  railway  system  in  the  world,  her  streets  throbbing 
with  commercial  activity,  and  in  intimate  business  relations  with  the 
entire  world,  the  intelligent  mind  pauses  in  the  presence  of  such  a  sub- 
lime monument  to  human  energy  and  character,  first  in  astonishment 
and  then  in  unbounded  admiration.  How  has  such  an  achievement  been 
possible,  inquires  the  world;  and  it  finds  a  solution  of  the  apparently 
mysterious  problem  in  an  analysis  of  the  character  of  the  men  who 
compose  our  citizenship.  Our  most  prominent  citizens,  the  men  who  have 
made  Chicago  beautiful,  powerful  and  famous,  as  a  rule,  have  been  the 
architects  of  their  own  fortunes,  starting  in  life  with  character,  integrity, 
intellect  and  perseverance  as  their  only  capital.  With  these  they  have 
conquered  difficulties,  amassed  fortune,  achieved  fame,  and  made  our 
city  a  vast  commercial  metropolis. 

Daniel  H.  Hale  belongs  to  this  sterling  class  of  representative  Chi- 
cagoans,  and  has  made  a  deep  impress  upon  the  character  of  this  rapidly 
maturing  community.  Of  New  England  origin — having  been  born  in 
Richmond,  in  the  State  of  Maine,  May  i6th,  1825 — he  inherited  the 
staunchness  of  character  into  which  the  principles  underlying  New 
England  life  have  firmly  crystalized,  and  has  not  onlv  kept  the  priceless 
inheritance  unsullied,  but  in  an  unusually  active  life,  has  interwoven  it 
conspicuously  in  all  his  business  transactions,  giving  them  substantial 
merit  that  has  always  guaranteed  them  public  confidence. 

The  parents  of  our  subject — Holbrook  Hale  and  Jane  A.  Rawlins — 
were  in  all  respects  most  worthy  people,  and  were  highly  esteemed  by 
the  community  of  which  they  were  a  part.  The  father  was  a  lumber- 


86  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

man,  living  near  the  city  of  Bangor,  until  the  son  reached  the  age  of 
twelve  years,  when  the  family  left  Maine,  removing  to  a  locality  near 
Chicago,  where  the  father  died  at  the  early  age  of  thirty-seven  years, 
leaving  a  wife  and  seven  children,  of  whom  Daniel  was  the  oldest.  After 
remaining  at  home  for  a  few  years,  it  was  found  necessary  that  he  should 
"work  out"  in  order  to  assist  in  the  support  of  the  family;  and  nobly  did 
he  apply  himself  to  the  discharge  of  this  duty  for  about  four  years,  when 
he  was  offered  and  accepted  a  position  in  Mr.  Folsom's  warehouse  in 
Michigan  City.  After  holding  this  new  position  for  a  few  months,  he 
engaged  with  Sleight  &  Windover,  to  take  charge  of  their  warehouse, 
where  he  remained  for  one  year,  saving  in  the  meantime  sufficient  means 
to  give  him  a  start  for  himself,  the  great  ambition  of  his  young  life.  The 
commencement  of  his  active  business  life  was  now  about  to  be  made. 
Procuring  a  team  and  a  limited  stock  of  goods,  he  began  the  life  of 
a  traveling  merchant.  This,  however,  was  an  entirely  too  limited  sphere 
for  a  young  man  of  his  energy  of  character  and  natural  ability,  and 
selling  this  business,  we  next  find  him  the  proprietor  of  a  store  in  Walnut 
Grove,  Indiana,  and  still  later  in  the  same  capacity  at  Merrillville  in  the 
same  State,  of  which  he  was  the  postmaster  for  eight  years.  In  1857  ^ie 
left  Merrillville,  and  came  to  Chicago,  where  he  soon  purchased  a  large 
stock  of  goods  and  opened  business  at  number  214  Randolph  street. 
At  the  expiration  of  one  year  he  sold  out  this  establishment,  and  devoted 
some  time  to  travel  and  buying  and  selling  real  estate  and  merchandise,  his 
good  judgment  enabling  him  to  make  all  his  enterprises  remunerative. 

In  1862  Mr.  Hale  entered  the  Union  army  as  Quartermaster  of  the 
one  hundred  and  twenty -seventh  Illinois  Regiment,  Colonel  Van  Arnarn 
commanding;  but  resigned  immediately  after  the  battle  of  Vicksburg, 
and  engaged  in  the  milling  business  at  Niles,  Michigan,  which  he  prose- 
cuted for  five  years.  Then  disposing  of  his  business  interests  at  Niles, 
he  entered  upon  the  business  of  mining  in  Hardin  county,  Illinois, 
remaining  there  for  five  years,  forming  during  the  time  three  large  lead 
mining  companies — of  one  of  which. he  was  vice  president — and  super- 
intended the  working  of  their  mines.  Selling  his  interests  here,  we 
again  find  him  in  Chicago,  engaged  with  Henry  I.  Sheldon,  under  the 
style  of  Daniel  H.  Hale  &  Company,  in  the  business  of  loaning  money 
upon  first  mortgage  on  Chicago  real  estate.  After  using  their  own 
money  for  a  time  in  the  business,  they  conceived  the  idea  of  visiting 
Scotland  and  organizing  a  mortgage  company  which  should  be  composed 
of  Scotch  capitalists,  with  the  view  of  operating  in  the  United  States. 
Accordingly  in  the  Spring  of  1874  Mr.  Hale,  with  his  family,  and  accom- 
panied by  Mr.  Sheldon,  sailed  in  the  steamer  Adriatic  for  Liverpool, 
leaving  New  York  on  the  sixteenth  of  May.  Arriving  at  Liverpool,  they 
went  thence  to  London,  and  from  there  to  Edinburgh,  where  they  met 
J.  Duncan  Smith  and  several  other  gentlemen  who  manifested  an  inter- 
est in  their  enterprise.  Within  two  months  the  Scottish-American  Mort- 
gage Company — limited — of  Edinburgh,  was  organized,  with  a  capital 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  87 

of  one  million  pounds  sterling,  to  loan  money  on  first  real  estate  mort- 
gages. Mr.  Hale  was  chosen  the  General  Agent  of  the  great  company 
in  America — a  recognition  of  his  abilities  as  a  financier  and  of  his  char- 
acter as  a  man,  which  is  seldom  accorded  by  the  capitalists  of  one  nation 
to  an  individual  of  another.  The  wisdom  of  the  choice  has  been  abun- 
dantly demonstrated,  for  the  business  of  the  company  in  this  country  has 
been  managed  with  the  most  signal  success  by  Mr.  Hale  and  Mr.  Shel- 
don, who  have  been  associated  in  the  American  management  from  the 
time  of  the  organization  of  the  company  until  the  present.  Some  of 
the  most  extensive  and  conspicuous  improvements  in  this  citv,  during  the 
last  five  years,  have  been  done  upon  Scotch  capital,  and  whether  or  not 
it  has  been  furnished  through  the  colossal  company  which  Mr.  Hale 
represents,  Chicago  is  certainly  indebted  to  him  for  attracting  the  atten- 
tion of  the  capitalists  of  Scotland  to  the  Empire  City  of  the  West. 

With  such  responsibilities  as  the  representation  of  such  immense 
capital  riaturally  imposes,  it  would  be  supposed  that  a  man  would  be 
unwilling  to  assume  other  important  duties.  But  the  restless  enterprise 
and  indomitable  energy  of  Mr.  Hale  are  apparently  commensurate  with 
the  demands  of  public  interests,  and  are  happily  not  beyond  the  strength 
of  his  splendid  physical  organization.  Perceiving  a  benefit  both  to 
emigrants  and  the  United  States,  he  with  other  responsible  gentlemen, 
formed,  two  years  ago,  the  Anglo-American  Land  Company,  the  object 
of  which  is  to  encourage  Scotch  emigration  in  colonies  to  America,  by 
offering  them  lands  under  the  control  of  responsible  and  philanthropic 
American  gentlemen.  The  capital  stock  of  this  company  is  ten  million 
dollars,  divided  in  shares  of  one  hundred  dollars;  and  the  standard  of 
character  belonging  to  him  of  whom  we  write,  is  once  more  acknowl- 
edged by  his  selection  as  the  president  of  this  company,  which  controls 
such  vast  interests,  and  is  of  so  much  importance  to  two  continents.  The 
Scots  are  such  excellent  citizens — some  of  them,  through  merit  of  char- 
acter and  intellect  at  this  moment  occupying  conspicuous  positions  in  the 
Senate  of  the  American  Republic — that  any  attempt  of  such  a  broad, 
responsible  and  philanthropic  character,  as  that  which  distinguishes  Mr. 
Hale's  Anglo-American  Land  Company,  is  entitled  to  the  warmest  praise 
and  heartiest  support  of  every  American  fcitizen. 

Still  the  record  of  the  sleepless  genius  which  has  accomplished  so 
much  for  the  development  of  our  Western  country,  is  not  complete. 
Mr.  Hale  has  conceived  a  practical  plan  of  intimately  connecting  Chicago 
with  Texas  and  Mexico,  thus  realizing  the  hope  expressed  by  our  citizens 
and  the  Mexican  Minister  at  a  meeting  held  in  Hershey  Hall  about  two 
years  since.  He  has  organized  a  company  called  the  Chicago,  Texas  and 
Mexican  Central  railroad,  to  build  a  railroad  from  Chicago  southwest — 
connecting  with  other  roads  already,  or  to  be,  constructed — through  Texas 
and  Mexico  to  the  Pacific  coast,  at  the  harbor  of  Topolovanpo  Bay.  The 
road  is  now  under  construction,  and  besides  the  recommendation  which 
the  name  of  Mr.  Hale  gives  it,  it  has  among  its  officers  and  stockholders 


88  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

many  of  the, very  best  men  in  Chicago.  In  the  accomplishment  of  this 
desirable  object — the  direct  communication  of  Chicago  with  Mexico — the 
projector  of  the  feasible  scheme  has  added  luster  to  his  fame,  and  entitled 
h  mself  to  the  gratitude  of  the  city  in  which  he  has  achieved  the  most. 

Mr.  Hale  was  married  May  ist,  1849,  to  Carrie  B.  Merrill,  at  Mer- 
rillville,  Indiana,  Miss  Merrill  being  about  nineteen  years  of  age,  having 
been  born  October  nth,  1830.  This  union  has  been  of  a  very  happy 
character.  For  thirty-two  years  husband  and  wife  have  traveled  up  the 
h'.ll  together,  and  now  side  by  side  enjoy  the  ease  of  a  luxurious  home,  and 
ihe  thought  that  constant  integrity  has  given  the  head  of  the  family  an 
assurance  of  respect  and  confidence,  even  when  millions  of  dollars  are 
involved.  The  first  child — Melvina — born  March  ipth,  1850,  died  when 
five  months  old.  In  1873  Daniel  Hale,  Jr.,  died.  Clinton  B.  Hale  was 
born  May  23d,  1853,  and  for  four  years  has  been  a  member  of  the  firm 
of  D.  H.  Hale  &  Company,  and  is  one  of  the  most  promising  young  men 
of  Chicago. 

Personally  Mr.  Hale  is  one  of  the  most  genial  of  men.  In  the  midst 
of  his  vast  responsibilities  he  is  approachable  on  all  occasions;  seemingly 
with  more  demands  upon  his  time  than  time  will  allow,  he  yet  finds  time, 
and  is  apt  enough  to  welcome  the  millionaire  or  the  poor  man,  and  to 
satisfy  the  legitimate  requests  of  either.  The  broad,  liberal  views  of  Mu. 
Hale  cannot  fail  to  make  his  presence,  his  office  or  his  home  pleasant  to- 
all  who  may  have  occasion  to  present  themselves  in  either.  He  is  a  firm 
believer  in  the  universal  brotherhood  of  man,  and  of  Gocl  as  the  common 
Father;  he  believes  in  the  grand  doctrine  of  doing  by  others  as  you  would 
be  done  by,  and  that  the  Father  of  us  all,  will  gather  every  one  of  us 
into  His  arms,  pitying  our  waywardness,  but  condoning  it;  "that  He  will 
take  in  all  humanity  and  care  for  it." 

With  millions  of  dollars  at  his  disposal;  with  a  railroad  under  way, 
linking  Chicago  to  Mexico;  with  land  to  invite  settlers  from  Bonnie 
Scotland  to  an  America  that  admires  the  Scottish  character,  and  with  his 
grand  comprehensive  view  of  man's  brotherhood  and  destiny,  Chicago 
will  delight  to  engrave  upon  the  monuments  that  she  will  rear  to  com- 
memorate the  enterprise  and  nobility  of  those  who  have  been  most 
conspicuous  among  her  sterling  citizenship,  the  name  of  Daniel  H,  Hale. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


CHURCHES. 

There  are  comparatively  few  who  are  unwilling  to  acknowledge  the 
beneficial  effects  of  churches  upon  a  community — that  they  are  a  moral 
police  force,  vastly  aiding  in  the  maintenance  of  the  peace  of  the  com- 
munity and  in  insuring  the  security  of  life  and  property.  Even  men  who 
are  infidel  in  religious  belief  are  usually  free  to  accord  to  the  church — of 
whatever  denomination  it  may  be — the  power  to  influence  men  for  good. 
A  careful  observation  of  the  influence  of  the  church  in  a  community  will, 
it  is  believed,  establish  this  fact  to  the  satisfaction  of  any  unprejudiced  mind, 
and  will  show  how  greatly  the  community  is  indebted  to  it  for  the  preser- 
vation of  good  order  and  the  salvation  of  lives  which  are  of  incalculable 
value  to  society.  There  are  men  and  women  within  the  pale  of  our  church 
organizations  who  are  no  honor  to  them,  and  the  church  would  be  better  off 
without  them;  but  in  the  majority  of  cases  such  persons  and  society  are  the 
gainers  through  even  such  unworthy  church  membership.  These  men 
and  women  are  bad  in  the  church,  but  they  would  be  worse  if  out  of  it. 
Whatever  they  may  do  in  secret,  they  put  on  an  outward  show  of  respecta- 
bility and  morality,  being  restrained  from  a  public  exhibition  of  their  evil 
natures  by  a  fear  of  losing  reputation;  and  vice  in  the  corner,  if  it  must 
be,  is  preferable  to  vice  on  the  housetop.  If  men  will  be  evilly  inclined, 
it  is  always  better,  for  the  good  of  an  imitative  world,  that  the  evil  should 
be  hid  from  public  gaze,  for 

"Vice,  seen  too  often,  familiar  with  its  face, 
We  first  endure,  then  pity,  then  embrace." 

But  positively  useful  to  society  as  such  a  restraining  influence  is,  the 
church  accomplishes  a  far  more  prominent  work;  and  in  a  city  like  Chicago 
jts  achievements  entitle  it  to  the  respect  and  support  of  every  tax  payer  and 
laborer  for  the  advancement  of  material  prosperity.  It  has  been  the 
efficient  instrumentality  of  rescuing  hundreds  and  thousands  from  all  de- 
grees of  degradation  and  uselessness,  and  converting  them  into  respectable 
and  producing  citizens;  instead  of  being  a  burden  upon,  they  have  been  made 
a  help  to,  society,  and  whatever  can  accomplish  such  a  work  is  certainly  not 
a  mere  ornament,  much  less  useless,  but  is  a  corner  stone  of  real  prosperity 
and  a  promoter  of  civilization.  In  view  of  what  the  church  has  done  in 
this  direction,  it  ill  becomes  any  one  who  has  such  an  interest  in  the  future 
of  Chicago,  as  would  lead  him  to  wish  for  universal  sobriety,  universal 
hon.es.ty  and  universal  industry — which  would  be  the  perfection  of  pros- 


90  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

parity — to  do  or  say  aught  that  would  retard  its  progress,  limit  its  influence 
or  impugn  its  motives. 

But  grand  and  beneficial  as  have  been  the  labors  of  the  church  in  the 
capacity  of  a  restraining  guardian  and  a  reformer,  its  character  as  3  minister- 
ing angel  to  the  unfortunate  of  mankind  shines  forth  upon  a  selfish  world 
like  a  beautiful  star  glittering  in  a  cloudy  night.  The  church  is  a  generous 
and  constant  dispenser  of  charity,  and  it  asks  but  one  question  concerning 
the  applicant:  Is  the  case  a  deserving  one?  With  an  affirmative  answer 
comes  aid  alike  to  Jew  or  Gentile,  Christian  or  Pagan.  The  cry  of  human 
distress  finds  its  way  straight  to  the  altar  of  the  church,  and  the  vast  pro- 
portion of  our  public  charities  are  conceived  and  supported  by  our  various 
church  organizations  or  by  individuals  connected  with  them.  The  history 
of  the  church  in  Chicago,  therefore,  will  certainly  not  be  the  least  interest- 
ing chapter  in  this  book,  to  the  majority  of  its  readers  who  hope  for  the 
future  success  of  the  city. 

The  Methodist  denomination  was  the  first  to  bring  the  "glad  tidings 
of  great  joy"  to  modern  Chicago,  which  it  did  in  1831  through  the  mission- 
ary preacher,  Reverend  Jesse  Walker,  who  continued  to  labor  in  this  field 
for  three  years.  The  first  quarterly  meeting  held  here  assembled  in  the 
Fall  of  1833,  m  a  building  on  the  corner  of  Clark  and  old  North  Water 
streets.  The  Methodists  first  built  a  log  church  at  "The  Point,"  in  which 
meetings  were  held  until  the  Spring  of  1834,  when  a  frame  church  was 
erected  on  North  Water  street  between  Dearborn  and  Clark  streets.  Two 
years  later  the  lot  still  occupied  by  the  First  Methodist  Church  at  the 
corner  of  Clark  and  Washington  streets  was  purchased,  and  in  the  Summer 
of  1838  the  building  on  North  Water  street  was  moved  across  the  river  to 
the  newly  purchased  lot.  In  1846  a  new  church  edifice  was  erected  by 
the  society,  which  building  being  destroyed  in  the  great  fire  of  1871,  was 
afterward  replaced  by  the  present  building,  which  not  only  furnishes  church 
accommodations  to  the  society,  but  a  portion  of  it  is  used  for  business 
purposes,  making  it  a  very  valuable  property. 

The  first  church  really  organized  in  the  city  is  the  First  Presbyterian, 
the  organization  of  which  took  place  on  the  twenty-sixth  of  June,  1833, 
and  its  membership  consisted  of  John  Wright,  Philo  Carpenter,  J.  H.  Poor. 
Rufus  Brown,  John  S.  Wright,  Elizabeth  Brown,  Cynthia  Brown,  Mary 
Taylor,  Elizabeth  Clark,  and  twenty-five  members  of  the  garrison. 

In  the  years  1833-4  tne  m'st  Catholic  Church  was  erected  on  State 
street  by  the  Reverend  Mr.  Schoffer.  In  1843  St.  Mary's  Church,  at  the 
corner  of  W abash  avenue  and  Eldridge  court,  was  opened  for  public 
worship,  although  not  completed  until  1845,  and  that  is  now  the  oldest 
organized  Catholic  Church  in  Chicago. 

o  <j 

On  the  nineteenth  of  October,  1833,  the  organization  of  the  first  Baptist 
Church  took  place,  the  first  members  being  Reverend  A.  B.  Freeman, 
pastor,  Peter  Warden,  John  K.  Sargents,  Nathaniel  Carpenter,  S.  T.  Jack- 
son, Ebon  Crane,  Martin  D.  Harmon,  Willard  Jones,  Samantha  Harmon, 
Luanda  Jackson,  Susannah  Rice,  Hannah  C.  Freeman  and  Betsey  Crane. 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  01 

The  first  Episcopal  Church  was  organized  in  1834,  with  the  following 
members:  John  Johnson,  P.  Johnson,  Mrs.  J.  H.  Kinzie,  Francis  W. 
Magill,  Margaret  Helm  and  Nancy  Hallam. 

The  first  Congregational  society  was  formed  on  the  twenty-second  of 
May,  1851,  and  at  first  worshiped  on  Washington  street  between  Halsted 
and  Union.  Afterward  it  built  a  church  edifice  on  the  corner  of  Wash- 
ington and  Green  streets,  which  it  occupied  a  few  years,  and  then  moved 
to  the  corner  of  Washington  and  Ann  streets,  where  its  first  building  was 
destroyed  by  fire,  but  on  which  site  the  flourishing  church  now  worships 
in  one  of  the  most  commodious  and  elegant  edifices  in  the  city. 

Thus  was  the  organization  of  church  work  begun  in  Chicago,  and 
other  denominations  soon  followed  the  pioneer  sects  into  the  new  field,  until 
in  addition  to  them,  the  Christian,  Dutch  Reformed,  Evangelical  Associa- 
tion of  North  America,  Evangelical  United,  Jewish,  Lutheran,  Reformed 
Episcopal,  Unitarian,  Universalist  and  Swedenborgian  churches  have 
established  themselves  here.  The  Methodists  now  have  twenty  churches 
in  the  city :  the  Ada  Street,  Brighton,  Centenary,  Dickson  Street,  First,  Ful- 
ton Street,  Grace,  Grant  Place,  Halsted  Street,  Kossuth  Street,  Lang- 
ley  Avenue,  Michigan  Avenue,  Park  Avenue,  Simpson,  State  Street,  St. 
Paul's,  Trinity,  Wabash  Avenue,  Western  Avenue  and  Winter  Street. 
The  Presbyterians  have  twenty-one  churches:  the  First,  Second,  Third, 
Fourth,  Fifth,  Sixth,  Eighth,  Tenth,  Westminster,  First  German,  First 
Scotch,  First  United,  Forty-first  Street,  Fullerton  Avenue,  Jefferson  Park, 
Lawndale,  Noble  Street,  Railroad  Chapel,  Reunion,  Welsh  and  Camp- 
bell Park.  The  Episcopalians  have  sixteen  churches:  Bishop  White- 
house  Memorial,  Cathedral,  Calvary,  Church  of  our  Savior,  Church  of 
the  Ascension,  Church  of  the  Epiphany,  Church  of  the  Holy  Communion, 
Grace,  St.  Ansgarius,  St.  James',  St.  Andrews',  St.  Mark's,  St.  Paul's,  St. 
Thomas',  St.  Stephen's  and  Trinity.  The  Baptists  have  twenty-three 
churches:  the  Fii'st,  Second,  Fourth,  Centennial,  Central,  Coventry 
Street,  Dearborn  Street,  Evangel,  First  Danish,  First  German,  Halsted 
Street,  Michigan  Avenue,  Millard  Avenue,  North  Star,  Olivet,  Providence, 
South,  First  Swedish,  Second  Swedish,  Tabernacle,  Twenty-fifth  Street, 
University  Place  and  Western  Avenue.  The  Congregationalists  have 
ten  churches:  the  First,  Bethany,  Clinton  Street,  Leavitt  Street,  Lincoln 
Park,  New  England,  Plymouth,  South,  Union  Park  and  the  Welsh.  The 
Roman  Catholics  have  thirty-five  churches:  the  All  Saints',  Cathedral 
of  the  Holy  Name,  Church  of  Notre  Dame,  Church  of  the  Holy  Name, 
Church  of  our  Lady  of  Sorrows,  Church  of  the  Annunciation,  Church 
of  the  Holy  Family,  Church  of  the  Immaculate  Conception,  Church  of 
the  Nativity,  Church  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  St.  Adalbert's,  St.  Anne's,  St. 
Anthony's,  St.  Boniface's,  St.  Bridget's,  St.  Columbkill's,  St.  Thomas', 
St.  Francis  Assissium,  St.  James',  St.  Jarlath's,  St.  John's,  St.  John  Nepo- 
mucene's,  St.  Joseph's,  St.  Mary's,  St.  Michael's,  St.  Patrick's,  St.  Paul's, 
St.  Peter's,  St.  Philip  Benizzi,  St.  Pius',  St.  Procopius,  St.  Stanislaus 
Kostka,  St.  Vincent  De  Paul's,  St.  Stephen's  and  St.  Wenceslaus'.  The 


92  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

Jewish  churches  number  ten,  and  are  the  Ahavi  Emunah,  B'Nei  Avro- 
hoon,  Zion  Congregation,  Sinai  Congregation,  Ohev  Sholom,  Kehilath 
B'Nai  Sholom,  Ahavi- Sholom,  Kehilath  Anshe  Maarev,  Congregation 
of  the  North  Side  and  Congregation  Beth  Aamidrash.  The  Reformed 
Episcopalians  have  seven  churches:  Christ,  Church  of  the  Good  Shepherd, 
Emanuel,  Grace,  St.  John's,  St.  Matthew's  and  St.  Paul's,  The  Unitar- 
ians have  three  churches:  the  Third,  Unity  and  the  Church  of  the  Messiah. 
The  Swedenborgians  have  but  few  churches,  but  the  denomination  is  ably 
represented  in  the  churches  that  do  exist. 

Besides  the  regular  churches  there  are  a  number  of  independent  church 
organizations,  some  of  which  are  very  prominent  and  influential.  Among 
these  may  be  mentioned  Moody's  Church,  at  the  corner  of  LaSalle  street 
and  Chicago  avenue,  and  named  after  the  great  evangelist,  D.  L.  Moody; 
the  Central  Church,  which  meets  in  Central  Music  Hall,  and  is  the  church 
to  which  Professor  David  Swing  ministers;  and  the  Reverend  A.  Youker's 
Church  in  the  West  Division. 

Some  of  the  church  edifices  are  the  largest,  most  convenient  and  most 
elegant  in  the  country,  and  considering  the  unfortunate  visitation  of  des- 
truction in  1871  upon  the  churches  of  the  South  and  North  Divisions,  the 
church  people  of  Chicago  are  deserving  of  the  greatest  credit  for  having 
completed  in  less  than  a  half  a  century  so  many  beautiful  houses  of  worship; 
and  as  the  societies  build  anew  they  improve  upon  what  has  preceded,  as 
if  gradually  but  surely  approaching  an  imitation  of  the  splendors  of  the 
"Pantheon  in  the  Air."  But  while  the  churches  of  Chicago  are  models  of 
architectural  beauty,  and  are  magnificently  furnished,  the  charge,  so  fre- 
quently made,  that  the  gospel,  as  dispensed  by  the  average  pulpit,  is  only 
for  the  rich,  is  not  true  here,  if  it  is  anywhere.  It  is  not  only  the  right  of 
a  people  who  can  afford  it,  to  build  an  imposing  church  edifice,  but  it  is 
their  duty — their  duty  to  Him  who  is  King  of  kings  and  entitled  to  be 
worshiped  amidst  the  most  exquisite  surroundings  that  His  own  wealth 
can  provide,  and  their  duty  to  the  community  in  which  they  are  located  and 
in  whose  architectural  adornment  they  should  be  interested;  provided 
always  that  the  community  shall  be  furnished  by  the  church  with  all  the 
free  church  accommodations  which  it  needs  and  is  unable  to  pay  for;  and 
this  is  done  by  the  churches  of  Chicago.  The  seating  capacity  of  the 
churches  is  considerably  beyond  the  regular  church  attendance,  and  there 
is  not  a  church  in  the  city  whose  seats  are  not  practically  free  to  any  who 
wish  to  attend,  but  are  unable,  or  who  have  not  the  disposition,  to  pay. 
Protestant,  Catholic,  Jew  or  Infidel  has  no  excuse  for  not  attending  divine 
worship,  and  attending  it  in  the  best  churches  of  either  of  these  three 
principal  divisions  of  religious  people.  But  the  churches,  not  satisfied  with 
thus  extending  gospel  privileges  from  their  home  edifices,  are  prosecuting 
an  extended  and  noble  city  mission  work,  which  is  found  in  almost  every 
section  of  the  city  in  which  there  is  not  the  means  or  the  disposition  to 
sustain  public  worship.  Nearly  every  Protestant  church  of  prominence  in 
the  city  sustains  at  least  one  mission,  and  the  Catholic  church  is  always 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 


93 


found  ministering  among  the  poor  and  neglected.  The  good  which  these 
missions  accomplish  can  scarcely  be  estimated,  even  in  a  sanitary  point  of 
view,  to  say  nothing  of  the  moral  influence.  One  of  them  is  a  faithful 
illustration  of  them  all:  In  1877  the  Third  Presbyterian  Church  opened  a 
Mission  Sabbath  School  upon  the  site  once  occupied  by  the  Seventh  Pres- 
byterian Church,  at  the  corner  of  Halsted  and  Harrison  streets.  Into  that 
school  was  gathered  from  six  hundred  to  a  thousand  of  the  worst-clad* 
rudest  and  most  uncleanly  children  to  be  found  in  the  world.  They  had 
no  respect  for  authority,  legal  or  moral,  and  it  was  not  an  uncommon  thing 
to  find  some  of  the  older  boys  prepared  to  defy  any  attempt  to  oppose  their 
will,  with  razors,  knives  and  pistols.  Law  could  not  usually  operate  to. 
curb  these  developing  criminal  dispositions,  and  it  remained  for  the  church 
to  step  in  and  save  society  from  future  depredations  by  maturing  outlaws, 
save  the  youthful  desperadoes  themselves,  and  to  insure  a  brighter  future 
to  the  homes  from  whence  they  came.  The  church  did  it.  It  has  con- 
tinued that  school  from  its  opening  until  the  present,  moving  it,  however, 
to  a  much  less  promising  field,  on  Desplaines  street,  between  Adams  and 
Jackson.  The  school  now  is  one  of  the  best  behaved  and  cleanly  in  the 
city,  and  the  homes  from  which  the  scholars  come  are  clean,  although  often 
they  are  the  homes  of  extreme  poverty.  The  owners  of  property  and 
those  comfortably  situated  in  the  community  took  a  special  interest  in  the 
school  at  its  inception,  and  enrolled  themselves  in  the  Adult  Bible  Class, 
which  has  become  one  of  the  largest  and  most  respectable  classes  in  the 
United  States.  This  is  a  picture  which  can  find  a  companion  picture  in 
nearly  every  church,  and  certainly  in  every  prominent  denomination 
in  the  city;  and  with  such  generous  and  successful  effort  to  benefit  man- 
kind in  every  relation  of  life,  the  church  of  Chicago  is  entitled  to  a 
most  generous  public  sympathy  and  sustenance. 


94 


H.  W.  THOMAS,  D.  D. 

The  pulpit  of  Chicago  has  presented  to  the  world  some  of  the  most 
brilliant  minds  that  have  ever  thrilled  it  with  thought  or  led  it  along  the 
path  of  progress.  Conscientious  in  the  discharge  of  the  responsible  duties 
of  their  high  office,  and  advancing  carefully  in  the  interpretation  of  the 
relation  of  man  to  God,  some  of  our  divines  have  grown  restless  under 
the  restraint  of  creeds,  and  have  essayed  to  preach  the  gospel  of  Christ  in 
its  beautiful  simplicity,  relieved  of  any  trimming  by  denominational 
architects.  As  the  human  mind  has  expanded,  and  grasped  truths,  and 
solved  mysteries,  which  to  the  ages  past  were  obscured  and  unfathomable, 
these  men  believe  that  a  more  intimate  knowledge  of  the  divine  gov- 
ernment has  been  inseparably  connected  with  this  increase  of  knowledge, 
and  that  while  God  has  not  changed,  His  character  and  word  have  become 
susceptible  of  a  fuller  and  more  satisfactory  interpretation.  The  growing 
liberality  of  the  pulpit  is  not,  as  the  superficial  thinker  affects  to  believe,  a 
falling  away  from  God,  but  is  rather  a  nearer  approach  to  Him,  and  is 
made  possible  through  a  higher  intelligence  and  a  more  perfect  under- 
standing of  man  and  nature.  It  would  be  discouraging  to  think  that 
while  the  discovery  of  new  forces  in  nature  was  being  constantly  made, 
and  that  while  our  intercourse  with  the  skies,  the  ocean,  and  the  caverns 
was  becoming  more  intimate,  our  knowledge  of  the  Creator  should  remain 
unenlarged.  Dr.  H.  W.  Thomas  is  among  those  advanced  thinkers  who 
do  not  believe  that  the  ages  which  were  distinguished  for  having  less 
general  intelligence  than  our  own,  were  capable  of  having  as  clear  a  con- 
ception of  the  Deity  as  is  now  possible,  or  that  with  less  knowledge 
they  were  capable  of  devising  creeds  which  would  answer  the  demands 
of  a  greater  intelligence  and  more  advanced  age.  Although  devoted  to 
the  general  principles  of  Methodism,  he  has  no  sympathy  with  denomina- 
tional exclusiveness,  and  no  respect  for  those  features  of  church  organization 
and  conduct  which  make  Christianity  repulsive  to  the  world.  Believing 
that  men  can  be  reasoned  with  better  than  they  can  be  frightened,  and 
that  they  can  be  wooed  easier  than  they  can  be  driven,  his  speech  is  always 
silver  and  his  sentiments  soothing.  The  world  draws  closer  to  the  king- 
dom which  he  presents,  when  his  voice  is  heard  in  the  midst  of  its  beauty, 
and  in  thus  bringing  the  church  and  the  world  together,  men  who  think 
as  he  does,  believe  that  both  are  benefited — the  one  by  having  the  necessity 
and  responsibility  of  its  sacred  mission  constantly  presented  to  it,  and  the 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 


95 


other  in  the  enjoyment  of  Christian  sympathy  and  influence.  Those  who 
have  never  desired  to  know  more  or  other  than  the  past  knew,  and  are 
satisfied  to  follow  the  beaten  path  which  their  fathers  trod,  wishing  for  no 
change,  although  there  may  be  new  and  more  flowery  paths  which  lead 
up  to  the  same  Savior,  and  through  Him  into  the  same  heaven,  are  utterly 
unable  to  understand  some  of  the  positions  assumed  by  Dr.  Thomas.  But 
while  this  has  been  a  fertile  source  of  regret  and  annoyance  to  him,  he  has 
steadily  followed  the  light  of  his  reason  and  the  dictates  of  his  conscience, 
with  a  faith  in  the  Divine  approval  which  is  as  firm  as  is  his  determination 
to  be  right  even  at  the  expense  of  his  popularity  with  those  who  persist 
in  misinterpreting  his  motives  or  his  views.  With  the  great  majority  of 
the  public,  however,  his  keen  intellect,  gentleness  of  manner  and  the  sin- 
cerity of  his  interest  in  the  welfare  of  his  race,  have  made  him  a  favorite 
and  a  power.  During  the  last  few  years  few  men  have  been  more  prom- 
inently before  the  public,  so  thoroughly  discussed,  or  more  accurately 
estimated ;  and  yet  prominent  as  he  is,  he  is  one  of  the  most  unostentatious 
and  retiring  gentlemen  that  can  be  met  with  in  a  lifetime.  Without  special 
effort  to  that  end,  but  wholly  as  the  result  of  his  superior  character,  ability 
and  culture  he  has  achieved  prominence  as  naturally  as  water  finds  its  level. 

Dr.  Thomas  was  born  in  Hampshire  county,  Virginia,  April  29th, 
1832,  and  is  the  son  of  Joseph  Thomas  and  Margaret  McDonald.  Until 
arriving  at  the  age  of  eighteen  he  lived  with  his  parents,  assisting  his  father 
on  his  farm  and  attending  the  district  schools.  At  that  age  he  became 
interested  in  the  subject  of  religion,  and  after  his  conversion,  left  the 
parental  roof  for  the  purpose  of  fitting  himself  for  the  gospel  ministry,  first 
entering  upon  a  private  course  of  study  under  the  direction  of  the  Reverend 
Dr.  McKisson,  which  he  continued  for  two  years,  then  attended  for  a 
time  the  Cooperstown  Academy,  and  upon  leaving  that  institution  entered 
Berlin  Seminary,  which  was  then  under  the  principalship  of  Professor  Eber- 
hart,  now  of  Chicago.  During  all  this  time,  in  addition  to  his  duties  as  a 
student,  he  assumed  those  of  preaching  in  those  localities  which  were  not 
otherwise  supplied  with  gospel  ministration. 

In  the  Spring  of  1855  he  removed  to  Iowa,  his  father  having  pre- 
ceded him  during  the  previous  Autumn.  In  order  to  recuperate  his 
health,  which  had  somewhat  suffered  from  his  ceaseless  toil  as  student  and 
preacher,  he  again  applied  himself  to  farm  labor.  In  a  few  months,  how- 
ever, he  began  preaching  again,  serving  as  a  supply  on  a  circuit  for  the 
remainder  of  the  year.  In  1856  he  joined  the  Iowa  Conference,  and 
under  it  filled  appointments  at  Marshall,  Fort  Madison,  Washington, 
Mount  Pleasant  and  Burlington,  in  each  of  which  places  he  was  a  useful 
and  favorite  minister  and  citizen.  While  at  Burlington,  he  received  a ' 
special  request  to  become  the  pastor  of  the  Park  Avenue  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church  of  this  city,  with  which  request  he  complied,  and  remained 
with  that  church  three  yeai's.  He  was  then  removed  by  the  Rock  River 
Conference  to  the  First  Church  of  Chicago,  and  after  serving  that  for  the 
full  time  allowed  by  the  rules  of  the  Methodist  church,  he  was  appointed 


96  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

to  the  pastorate  of  the  First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  at  Aurora,  Illinois. 
After  two  years'  service  with  this  church  the  Centenary  Church,  of  this 
city,  requested  the  Conference  to  appoint  Dr.  Thomas  to  its  pulpit,  which 
was  done,  and  after  two  reappointments  he  left  the  Centenary,  in  obedience 
to  the  three- year  rule,  in  the  Autumn  of  1880. 

During  the  last  two  years  of  his  pastorate  in  this  church,  Dr.  Thomas 
had  labored  under  exceedingly  unpleasant  circumstances,  the  Conference 
in  1878  having  placed  him  under  censure  for  heretical  teachings.  That 
he  might  be  better  and  fully  understood,  therefore,  his  farewell  sermon  to 
the  people  of  Centenary  was  a  plain  statement  of  his  belief,  and  it  created 
a  profound  sensation,  both  inside  and  outside  of  the  Methodist  church. 
He  averred  himself  as  a  disbeliever  in  the  penal  theory  of  the  atonement, 
or  that  Christ  was  punished  as  a  sinner,  and  in  the  verbal  inspiration  of 
the  Bible;  and  he  expressed  the  belief  that  there  was  hope  for  a  soul  that 
should  either  here  or  hereafter  cease  its  antagonism  to  the  will  of  God. 
At  the  session  of  the  Rock  River  Conference;  which  convened  the  same 
week,  Dr.  Thomas  demanded,  after  some  further  opposition  to  his  teach- 
ings had  been  developed,  that  that  body  should  proceed  to  the  settlement 
of  his  case,  as  a  duty  which  it  owed  not  less  to  him  than  to  itself.  A  com- 
mittee was  appointed  to  consider  the  matter,  and  its  report  contained  a 
request  that  Dr.  Thomas  withdraw  from  the  Methodist  church,  which  he 
absolutely  declined  to  do.  The  next  step  in  the  case  will  be  a  trial  for 
heresy,  the  result  of  which  upon  the  church  itself  it  would  be  difficult  to 
conjecture,  while  Dr.  Thomas  will  not  be  adversely  affected,  whatever  the 
verdict  may  be. 

Dr.  Thomas  is  a  ready  and  eloquent  speaker,  a  logical  thinker  and  a 
fine  writer.  His  sermons  are  extemporaneous,  and  the  great  congrega- 
tions which  assemble  to  hear  him,  are  entranced  by  the  simplicity  of  his 
style,  his  easy  delivery,  evident  convictions,  and  his  ready  mingling  of  the 
philosophical  with  the  ideal.  His  sermons,  lectures  and  addresses  are 
never  irksome  to  the  hearer.  There  is  always  so  much  of  brilliancy  in 
them  that  the  most  uninterested  in  the  subject  cannot  resist  the  fascination 
of  its  presentation. 

Dr.  Thomas  was  married  March  ic/th,  1855,  to  Emeline  C.  Merrick, 
who  has  been  a  most  faithful  wife,  friend  and  helper  to  her  husband  through 
all  his  varied  experience.  When  upon  the  lower  rounds  of  the  ladder, 
she  was  by  his  side  to  encourage,  and  now  that  he  is  where  the  world  be- 
holds laurels  encircling  his  brow,  the  devotee!  wife  is  also  discerned  as  a 
sharer  of  his  fame.  Of  seven  children,  Homer,  now  a  student  in  Rush 
Medical  College,  and  a  young  man  of  rare  promise,  is  the  only  survivor. 


97 


DAVID  SWING. 


David  Swing  was  born  April  i8th,  1830,  in  the  city  of  Cincinnati, 
Ohio.  The  Swing  genealogical  tree  had  its  origin  in  Germany — his 
ancestors  having  migrated  to  this  country  from  Germany  in  or  about  the 
year  1726.  His  father,  whose  name  was  also,  David,  married  Knrinda 
Gazley,  and  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  their  younger  son.  David 
Swing,  Sr.,  was  engaged  for  many  years  in  the  steamboat  business  on 
the  Ohio  river,  where  he  was  a  man  of  recognized  ability  and  moral 
worth,  honorable  in  his  dealings,  and  regarded  with  respect  and  esteem 
by  all  who  knew  him.  Technically  he  was  not  a  Christian;  practically 
he  was  a  man  who  represented  a  noble  and  generous  manhood,  and  led 
an  unblamable  life.  Dying  of  cholera  in  1832,  he  left  his  two  sons  to 
the  care  of  the  widowed  mother,  who  was  a  devoted  Christian,  and 
instilled  into  the  mind  of  David  those  principles  of  the  Christian  life 
which  he  has  always  so  faithfully  illustrated. 

When  David  was  only  seven  years  old,  his  mother  married  a  second 
time,  and  the  family  removed  to  Reedsburgh,  Ohio,  and  three  years  later 
settled  on  a  farm  near  Williamsburgh,  in  the  same  State,  where  David 
was  occupied  for  eight  years  in  farming,  attending  the  public  school  dur- 
ing the  Winter  season,  and  at  such  other  times  as  the  duties  of  his  farm 
life  would  permit. 

These  were  not  lost  years,  nor  was  the  situation  adverse  to  the 
realization  of  the  wide  and  noble  culture  which  he  subsequently  attained. 
As  the  oak,  which  is  to  be  tried  by  storm  and  tempest,  strikes  its  roots 
deep  into  the  soil,  and  takes  hold  of  the  very  rocks,  so  this  rude  life  on 
the  farm  enabled  young  Swing  to  lay  the  foundation  of  that  sturdy  man- 
hood and  remarkable  self-poise,  which  his  recent  life  has  so  conspicuously 
manifested.  Left  without  the  help  of  books  or  teachers  to  any  consider- 
able degree,  he  developed  the  observing,  reflective,  and  rational  faculties, 
and  became  a  student  of  nature.  Here  also,  he  acquired  that  physical 
vigor,  which  has  enabled  him  to  perform  a  vast  amount  of  intellectual 
labor  and  public  service,  without  breaking  down.  And  to  his  early 
meditative  farm  life  he  was  likewise  indebted  in  part  for  the  originality 
of  his  thought  and  the  wealth,  beauty  and  fertility  of  his  illustrations. 
It  would  be  a  mistake,  however,  to  suppose  that  during  these  years  young 
Swing  made  no  progress  in  learning,  as  interpreted  by  books.  At  the 
age  of  eighteen  he  had  so  industriously  used  his  limited  means  of  informa- 


9&  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

tion,  that  he  had  fitted  himself  to  enter,  as  he  did,  the  Miami  University 
at  Oxford,  Ohio,  where  he  pursued  the  classical  course,  and  graduated  in 
1852,  having  spent  about  four  years  in  the  University. 

Upon  leaving  this  institution,  he  commenced  the  study  of  divinity 
under  the  instructions  of  the  Reverend  Doctor  Rice,  of  Cincinnati.  Re- 
ceiving an  invitation  from  the  University — his  alma  mater — to  the  chair 
of  Greek  and  Latin,  he  accepted  it;  and  returned  to  Oxford,  where,  for 
thirteen  years,  he  performed  the  duties  of  Professor  of  Ancient  Languages 
in  the  most  acceptable  manner.  During  this  period  he  also  preached  as 
opportunities  presented  themselves,  and  the  onerous  duties  of  his  profes- 
sorship would  permit.  Soon  after  entering  upon  his  work  as  professor — 
in  1854 — he  was  married  to  Elizabeth  Porter,  a  most  estimable  lady, 
daughter  of  Dr.  Porter,  a  physician  at  Oxford. 

In  the  year  1866,  Professor  Swing  was  invited  to  Chicago  to  the  care 
of  the  Westminster  Presbyterian  Church,  which  invitation  he  accepted. 
The  originality,  liberality  and  thoroughly  Christian  spirit  in  which  he 
performed  his  work  attracted  to  his  church  a-large  number  of  thoughtful 
people,  and  his  popularity  led  the  North  Presbyterian  Church  to  seek 
a  union  with  the  Westminster  Church,  and  the  two  became  united  under 
the  new  name  of  the  Fourth  Presbyterian  Church. 

The  great  fire  occurred  the  first  year  of  this  union,  and  swept  away  the 
church  edifice  and  all  the  homes  of  its  five  hundred  parishioners-^only 
two  excepted.  From  this  fearful  calamity  Professor  Swing  saved  noth- 
ing— all  his  furniture,  library,  and  the  intellectual  work  of  years  being 
destroyed  in  the  conflagration,  and  he  and  his  family — wife  and  two 
daughters — spent  the  night  of  the  eventful  October  ninth  without  shelter 
on  the  open  prairie. 

For  nearly  a  year  he  occupied  as  a  place  of  meeting,  Standard  Hall1, 
which  had  escaped  the  fire,  and  subsequently  finding  this  commodious 
hall  too  strait  for  the  increasing  congregations  which  flocked  to  hear  him, 
McVicker's  Theater  was  engaged,  and  here  he  continued  his  preaching — 
attracting  crowds  of  the  most  intelligent  and  thoughtful  people  of  the  city, 
and  strangers  sojourning  at  the  hotels  to  his  meetings.  Upon  the  rebuild- 
ing of  his  Fourth  Church  at  the  corner  of  Rush  and  Superior  streets,  he 
regretfully  relinquished  his  broad. and  congenial  field  of  labor  in  the 
center  of  the  city,  and  assumed  the  duties  of  his  former  pastorate.  But 
his  peace  was  destined  to  be  rudely  broken  and  a  new  order  of  trials 
awaited  him.  The  Fourth  Presbyterian  Church,  like  McVicker's  Theater, 
was  soon  crowded  to  repletion  by  the  anxious  throng  of  members  and 
strangers,  which  flocked  to  hear  him,  and  his  work  was  moving  forward 
steadily  and  vigorously,  when  Reverend  Francis  L.  Patton,  D.  D.,  com- 
menced a  series  of  ecclesiastical  prosecutions,  which  seriously  interfered 
with  his  work,  and  ultimately  resulted  in  Professor  Swing's  withdrawal 
from  the  Presbyterian  Church. 

On  the  thirteenth  of  April,  1874,  Professor  Swing,  "upon  the  com- 
plaint of  Francis  L.  Patton,"  presented  himself  at  the  bar  of  the  Chicago 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS   DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 


99 


Presbytery  to  answer  to  two  general  charges,  supported  by  twenty-eight 
specifications,  the  Reverend  Arthur  Mitchell  being  the  Moderator. 
Stripped  of  their  verbiage  these  charges  were:  First,  that  Professor 
Swing  had  not  been  zealous  and  faithful  in  maintaining  the  truth  of  the 
gospel,  and  faithful  and  diligent  in  the  exercise  of  the  duties  of  his  office 
as  a  Presbyterian  minister.  Second,  that  Professor  Swing  did  not  receive 
and  adopt  the  Presbyterian  Confession  of  Faith  as  containing  the  system 
of  doctrine  .taught  in  the  Holy  Scriptures.  It  would  be  tedious  and 
superfluous  to  give  the  twenty-eight  specifications  by  which  the  charges 
were  attempted  to  be  supported. 

The  formal  charge  of  "unfaithfulness  and  lack  of  diligence  in  his 
calling  as  a  minister  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,"  in  view  of  Professor 
Swing's  laborious  and  indefatigable  service  rendered  to  that  church,  could 
have  no  other  meaning,  than  that  his  work  was  not  legitimately  that  of 
a  good  Presbyterian  Gospel  Minister.  And  the  charge,  that  Professor 
Swing  "did  not  receive  the  Presbyterian  Confession  of  Faith,  as  express- 
ing the  Scriptural  system  of  Truth"  was  the  definite  charge  of  heresy. 
The  two  charges,  therefore,  were  one:  Professor  Swing  was  guilty  of 
holding  and  teaching  heresy.  Upon  this  general  issue,  therefore,  the 
prosecutor  and  the  prosecuted  were  brought  face  to  face.  The  trial 
occupied  more  than  six  weeks,  and  excited  almost  universal  interest. 
The  proceedings  were  reported  daily  in  the  newspapers,  and  throughout 
the  entire  country  the  utmost  anxiety  was  manifested  in  regard  to  the 
disposition  which  the  Chicago  Presbytery  would  make  of  the  charge  of 
heresy,  preferred  against  one  of  the  most  learned  and  earnest  men  of  the 
time.  Fortunately,  though  the  struggle  was  protracted,  the  issue  was 
not  uncertain,  and  after  giving  the  prosecutor  the  fullest  opportunity  of 
maintaining  his  charges,  the  Presbytery  was  brought  to  a  vote,  which 
showed  a  large  majority  of  the  members  to  be  opposed  to  conviction — 
only  thirteen  members  out  of  the  sixty-one  constituting  the  Presbytery, 
voting  with  the  prosecutor. 

Upon  the  rendering  of  the  verdict  of  acquittal,  Dr.  Patton  gave 
notice  of  appeal,  and  thus  announced  his  purpose  to  prolong  the  warfare. 
The  Fourth  Presbyterian  Church  adhered  to  Professor  Swing,  and 
requested  him  to  continue  his  work  as  its  pastor,  to  which  he  assented, 
preaching  to  crowded  houses,  until  Professor  Patton's  continued  prosecu- 
tions led  him  reluctantly  to  withdraw  from  the  Presbytery  of  Chicago, 
and  from  the  jurisdiction  of  an  ecclesiastical  system,  which  rendered  it 
possible  that  a  single  member  should  compel  him  to  spend  his  valuable 
time  in  personal  vindication  and  defense.  While,  therefore,  appreciating 
the  chivalric  manner  in  which  his  friends  in  the  Presbytery  had  come  to 
his  defense,  he  could  not  consent  to  waste  his  valuable  time  in  a  war  of 
words,  or  in  a  mere  personal  vindication;  he,  therefore,  withdrew  from 
the  Presbytery,  and  still  continued  the  pastor  of  the  Fourth  Presbyterian 
Church.  Professor  Patton  then  sought  to  inculpate  the  Presbytery  itself 
for  permitting  an  alleged  heretic  to  labor  as  a  pastor  over  one  of  its 


ioo  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

churches,   and   Professor   Swing  terminated  the   whole   controversy   by 
resigning  his  pastorate. 

The  friends  of  Professor  Swing  then  inaugurated  the  movement 
which  has  resulted  in  the  Central  Church,  which  now  worships  in  Cen- 
tral Music  Hall. 


IOJ 


CHAPTER  IX. 


PUBLIC    SCHOOLS. 

The  community  which  is  proud  of  its  schools,  and  which   has  schools 
that  are  worthy  to  incite  pride,  gives  evidence  of  a  high  degree  of  patriot- 
ism in  its  midst,  and   of   an    intelligent  appreciation    of  the  needs    of  a 
republic.     Intelligence  is  the  chief  corner  stone  of  republicanism.     When 
our  electors  approach  the  ballot  box  with  a  complete  sense  of  responsibility, 
and  with  sufficient  knowledge  to  faithfully  perform  their  duty,  the  dema- 
gogue will  have  lost  his  power  in  the  American  Republic,  and  our  institu- 
tions will  be  safe  for  the  present  and  safe  forever.     Statesmanship,  and  not 
selfish  aspiration,  will  then  control  the   primary   and  the  elections.      Our 
marvelous  Republic  can  hope  to  endure  only  by  educating  the  masses.    The 
children  of  our  homes,  and  those  without  homes,  must  be  educated  for 
responsible  citizenship.     In  every  State  of  our  Union,  and  in  every  town- 
ship of  the  States,  education  must  be  regarded  as  the  bulwark  of  liberty 
and  the  only  safeguard  against  ultimate  anarchy.      All  our  conflicts  with 
arms  in  this  country,  were  made   possible   by   ignorance.     Especially  was 
this  true  of  the  last  and  great  rebellion,  which  was  a  grand  culmination  of 
ingenious  imposition  upon  the   uninformed.      The   rebellion   of  1861   was 
bom  in  the  nullification  doctrines  of  1832.     A  nation  which  had  come  into 
existence  amidst  the  ringing  of  bells  and  a  concert  of  huzzas  which  echoed 
in  every  heart  and  hamlet  of  the  Colonies,  then  found  that  it  was  in  danger. 
A  patriot's  will    for  the   time   being    saved   it.      The   country    afterward 
stepped  proudly  on  to  greatness  and  glory,  but  the  spirit  of  rebellion  never 
died.     It  lived  in  the  hearts  of  designing  men,  and   nurtured   itself  in  the 
hearts  of  those  who  were  imperfectly  informed.    At  last  it  culminated,  and 
an  ocean  of  blood  gushed  forth  to  wash  out  a  ravine  of  four  years  in  the 
peace  and  prosperity  of  the  nation.     Such  a  result  could  never  have  been 
possible  in  this  country,  if  the  following   had  been   as   intelligent  as  the 
leaders.     The  civil  war  of  1861  was  bred  in  a  section  where  the  common 
school  is  imperfectly  sustained,  and  where  there  are  now  thousands  of  voters 
who  from  lack  of  intelligence,  are  utterly  disqualified   as   electors  under  a 
form  of  government  in  which  the  majority  rules,  and  in  which   one  vote, 
although  cast  ignorantly,  makes  the  majority. 

But  how  are  the  masses  to  be  educated?  Only  in  the  public  schools. 
Colleges  are  self-supporting,  and  the  vast  majority  who  are  to  be  educated, 
cannot  afford  to  contribute  to  their  support.  Our  forty-eight  million  of 
population  must  look  to  the  Public  School  as  the  source  of  education  for  the 


1O2  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

people.  Chicago  has  realized  to  the  fullest  extent  all  that  we  have  asserted, 
and  has  perfected  a  magnificent  system  of  education  for  all  who  desire  to 
avail  themselves  of  it.  The  city  has  the  right  to  be  proud  of  her  public 
schools,  for  notwithstanding  the  youth  of  the  city  they  are  as  complete  as 
any  in  the  country. 

Chicago  very  early  in  its  history  showed  an  interest  in  education;  and 
we  are  largely  indebted  to  Shepherd  Johnston,  Clerk  of  the  Board  of  Edu- 
cation, for  this  and  other  information,  contained  in  this  chapter.  In  1810, 
Robert  Forsythe,  a  lad  of  thirteen  years  of  age,  and  who  afterward  became 
Paymaster  in  the  United  States  Army,  began  teaching  school  in  Chicago, 
having  for  his  first  pupil  John  H.  Kinzie,  son  of  John  Kinzie,  who  has 
been  so  conspicuous  in  this  history.  But  while  Master  Forsythe  was  the 
first  teacher,  his  teaching  can  hardly  be  termed  that  of  a  school  teacher, 
for  the  first  school  of  which  we  have  any  record  was  opened  in  1816,  by  a 
discharged  soldier  named  William  L.  Cox.  The  children  composing  this 
school  were  four  from  the  Kinzie  family  and  three  children  from  fort 
Dearborn.  In  1820  a  school  was  opened  in  the  fort  itself,  and  was  taught 
by  a  sergeant  of  the  army.  From  that  time  until  1829  we  have  no  record 
or  other  information  in  regard  to  schools.  In  1829,  however,  the  children 
of  J.  B.  Beaubien  and  Mark  Beaubien  were  gathered  into  a  school  which 
was  taught  by  Charles  H.  Beaubien,  son  of  J.  B.  Beaubien.  The  next 
school  of  which  we  have  any  account  was  opened  in  June,  1830,  by  Stephen 
Forbes,  who  was  employed  as  teacher  by  J.  B.  Beaubien  and  by  a  lieu- 
tenant, who  had  resigned  his  commission  in 'the  army,  and  who  became 
known  in  the  war  of  the  rebellion  as  General  Hunter.  This  school  had 
twenty-five  pupils,  who  came  from  the  fort,  and  from  families  outside. 
After  teaching  a  year,  assisted  all  the  time  by  his  wife,  Mr.  Forbes  was 
succeeded  by  a  gentleman  named  Foot.  Mr.  Forsythe  afterward  became 
Sheriff  of  the  county,  and  then  removed  to  Ohio. 

The  next  patron  of  schools  was  Colonel  R.  J.  Hamilton,  whose  name 
has  already  become  familiar  to  the  reader.  In  1831  he  became  Commis- 
sioner of  School  Lands  for  Cook  county,  and  had  charge  of  the  school  funds. 
He  and  another  citizen  employed  John  Watkins  to  teach  school  in  the 
North  Division.  The  first  school  house  in  Chicago  was  built  by  Colonel 
Hamilton  and  Colonel  Owens,  on  the  north  bank  of  the  river,  just  east  of 
Clark  street.  The  next  school,  in  line,  was  taught  by  Eliza  Chappel,  who 
came  from  Rochester,  New  York,  and  began  teaching  in  1833,  assisted  by 
Elizabeth  Beach  and  Mary  Burrows.  Her  school,  as  described  by  William 
H.  Wells,  former  Superintendent  of  Schools,  was  an  infant  school  of  about 
twenty  children,  kept  in  a  log  house  on  South  Water  street. 

During  the  latter  part  of  1833  G.  T.  Sproat  arrived  from  Boston, 
Massachusetts,  and  opened  an  English  and  classical  school  for  boys,  in  the 
First  Baptist  Church,  which  then  stood  on  South  Water  street  not  far  from 
Franklin.  Sarah  L.  Warren,  afterward  Mrs.  Abel  E.  Carpenter,  was  an 
assistant  teacher  in  this  school.  The  few  buildings  that  then  existed  were 
mostly  on  South  Water  street.  Mrs.  Carpenter  in  letters  written  to  friends 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  IQ? 

in  later  years,  said  that  it  was  not  uncommon  for  her  to  see  prairie  wolves 
on  her  way  to  and  from  her  school,  and  that  their  howling  could  be  heard 
at  any  time  in  the  day.  She  also  wrote  that  although  sometimes  annoyed 
by  Indians,  the  greatest  annoyance,  by  far,  was  mud. 

In  1834  Mr.  Sproat's  school  became  a  Public  School;  that  is,  Mr. 
Sproat  complied  with  the  law,  which  provided  that  if  a  teacher  kept  a 
record,  and  had  it  certified  by  certain  school  officers,  he  should  have  a  por- 
tion of  the  income  on  school  funds.  The  schools  of  the  period  were  sup- 
ported by  subscriptions,  and  the  public  money  which  a  compliance  with 
the  law  by  a  teacher  secured,  was  appropriated  to  lessen  the  subscriptions 
pro  rata.  The  law  also  required  that  teachers  of  public  schools  should 
give  gratuitous  instruction  to  orphans  and  children  of  indigent  parents. 
Dr.  Henry  Vander  Bogart  succeeded  Mr.  Sproat  as  teacher  in  this  school, 
the  same  year  that  it  jDecame  a  public  school,  being  himself  succeeded 
before  the  close  of  the  year  by  Thomas  Wright,  who  was  followed  in  1835 
by  James  McLellan. 

During  the  Winter  of  1834-5  George  Davis  opened  a  school  in  the 
second  story  of  a  building  on  Lake  street  between  Clark  and  Dearborn 
streets.  In  the  following  year  he  removed  his  school  into  the  First  Presby- 
terian Church  on  Clark  street,  between  Lake  and  Randolph  streets. 

In  the  meantime  Miss  Chappel  and  her  assistants  had  superseded  their 
infant  school  with  a  boarding  school,  which  they  conducted  in  a  rented 
house,  and  the  main  purpose  of  which  was  to  fit  teachers  for  the  common 
schools  in  the  new  settlements.  Miss  Chappel  gave  up  her  school  in 
1834-5  t°  Ruth  Leavenworth,  who  afterward  became  the  wife  of  Joseph 
Hanson. 

John  S.  Wright  built  a  structure  for  Miss  Chappel's  school,  and  it  was 
the  first  building  designed  for  exclusively  school  purposes  ever  erected  in 
Chicago.  "In  1835,"  says  a  historian,  "our  young  Sunday  School  Librarian, 
John  S.  Wright,  built  at  his  own  expense,  on  Clark  street,  a  school  house 
for  their  own  use,  and  that  house  soon  became  the  Public  School  house,  and 
Miss  Ruth  Leavenworth  was  secured  by  Miss  Chappel  as  its  teacher." 
Mr.  Wright  himself  says  of  it,  in  1867,  in  his  "Chicago,  Past,  Present  and 
Future:"  "The  honor  is  due  to  my  sainted  mother.  Having  then  plenty 
of  money,  it  was  spent  very  much  as  she  desired.  Interested  in  an  infant 
school,  she  wanted  the  building  and  it  was  built." 

Miss  Leavenworth  discontinued  her  school  in  the  Spring  of  1836,  but 
Frances  Langdon  Willard  very  soon  opened  a  school  in  the  same  building 
for  the  instruction  of  young  ladies  in  the  higher  branches  of  education. 
Louisa  GhTord  was  Miss  Willard's  assistant,  and  later  her  successor.  A 
primary  department  was  added,  and  this  school  became  a  Public  Scbool, 
under  the  law.  Miss  Willard  subsequently  opened  a  school  upon  her 
original  plan,  but  did  not  continue  it  more  than  a  year. 

From  Shepherd  Johnston's  Historical  Sketches  of  the  Public  Schools, 
and  by  his  permission,  we  take  what  follows  in  this  chapter: 

The  curious  searcher  in  the  old  statute  books  of  the   State  of  Illinois, 


104  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

will  find  in  the  Acts  of  1835,  an  Act  adopted  in  February  of  that  year 
which  establishes  a  special  School  System  for  township  thirty-nine  north, 
range  fourteen  east  of  the  third  principal  meridian;  and  by  his  map  he 
finds  this  means  Chicago.  The  incorporation  of  the  city  by  the  next 
legislature  caused  the  repeal  of  this  Act,  but  it  belongs  to  the  history  of  our 
schools.  Its  substance  was  as  follows:  Sections  one,  two  and  three  provide 
that  the  legal  voters  shall  elect  annually,  on  the  first  Monday  in  June,  either 
five  or  seven  School  Inspectors,  who  were  to  examine  teachers,  prescribe 
text  books,  visit  the  schools,  etc.  They  were  to  recommend  to  the  County 
Commissioners  the  division  of  the  township  into  districts,  and  the  Commis- 
sioners were  required  to  lay  off,  divide  and  alter  the  districts  as  the  Inspec- 
tors might  from  time  to  time  recommend. 

SECTION  4.  "The  legal  voters  in  each  school  district  shall  annually 
elect  three  persons  to  be  Trustees  of  Common  Schools,  whose  duty  it  shall 
be  to  employ  suitable  and  qualified  teachers;  to  see  that  the  schools  are 
free,  and  that  all  white  children  in  the  district  have  an  opportunity  of 
attending  them,  under  such  regulations  as  the  Inspectors  may  make;  to 
take  charge  of  the  school  houses  and  of  all  the  school  property  belonging 
to  the  district,  and  to  manage  the  whole  financial  concerns  thereof.  The 
said  Trustees  shall  annually  levy  and  collect  a  tax  sufficient  to  defray  the 
necessary  expenses  of  fuel,  rent  of  school-room,  and  furniture  for  the  same; 
and  they  shall  levy  and  collect  such  additional  taxes  as  a  majority  of  the 
legal  voters  of  the  district,  at  a  meeting  called  for  that  purpose,  shall 
direct:  Provided,  that  such  additional  taxes  shall  never  exceed  one-half  of 
one  per  cent,  per  annum  upon  all  the  taxable  property  in  the  district;  all  of 
which  taxes  the  said  Trustees  shall  have  full  power  to  assess  and  collect.'' 

Mr.  John  Brown  taught  a  private  school  in  the  North  Division,  near 
the  corner  of  Dearborn  and  Wolcott  streets,  in  1836,  and  until  March, 
1837.  ^e  cease(l  to  teach  in  consequence  of  being  severely  beaten  by  some 
of  his  pupils,  and  sold  out  his  lease  to  Mr.  Edward  Murphy,  who  took 
decided  means  to  secure  success.'  On  opening  his  school  with  thirty-six 
pupils,  he  addressed  them,  setting  forth  the  necessity  of  observing  the  rules 
of  the  school  and  promising  chastisement  to  those  who  should  infringe 
them.  "The  day  after,"  says  Mr.  Murphy,  "I  placed  an  oak  sapling  an 
inch  in  diameter  on  my  desk.  That  afternoon  a  Mr.  S.,  who  owned  the 
building,  came  into  the  school  room,  and  seeing  the  walls  decorated  with 
caricatures  and  likenesses  of  almost  every  animal  from  a  rabbit  to  an  ele- 
phant, he  got  in  a  raging  passion,  and  used  rather  abusive  language.  I 
complained;  he  became  more  violent.  I  walked  to  my  desk,  took  the 
sapling  and  shouted  'clear  out,'  which  he  obeyed  by  a  rapid  movement. 
This  trifling  incident  effectually  calmed  the  ringleaders,  some  of  whom  now 
occupy  honorable  and  respectable  positions  in  society." 

Mr.  Murphy's  vigorous  administration  secured  the  admiration  of  the 
school  officers,  who  rented  the  building,  and  made  him  a  Public  School 
teacher,  from  August,  1837, to  November,  1838,  at  a  salary  of  eight  hundred 
dollars  per  annum. 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  105 

The  earliest  records  of  the  Public  Schools  of  the  city  of  Chicago  to 
be  found  among  the  official  documents  of  the  city,  commence  with  the 
incorporation  of  the  city  in  the  year  1837.  From  this  time  till  about 
the  year  1840  there  does  not  appear  to  have  been  any  system  outlined  which 
gave  uniformity  of  action  in  the  management  of  the  various  Public  Schools" 
of  the  city.  The  records  appear  to  show  that  there  were  in  the  year  1837, 
seven  school  districts,  but  there  is  nothing  to  indicate  where  these  districts 
were  located.  From  the  records  of  the  election  of  Trustees  of  school 
districts  held  about  that  time,  and  from  the  names  of  the  teachers  signed 
to  the  reports  from  the  various  districts,  districts  one  and  two,  and  per- 
haps district  number  three,  were  in  the  South  Division  of  the  city;  dis- 
tricts number  four  and  five  were  in  the  West  Division  of  the  city;  and 
districts  number  six  and  seven  were  in  the  North  Division  of  the  city. 
The  reports  of  attendance  in  these  districts  do  not  appear  to  have  been 
made  with  any  very  great  regularity,  and  in  many  of  the  districts  the 
schools  appear  to  have  been  closed  for  much  of  the  year,  and  in  some  of 
them  there  does  not  appear  to  have  been  any  school  held. 

The  following  are  the  provisions  for  Public  Schools  contained  in  the 
city  charter,  approved  March  4th,  1837,  at  the  time  of  the  incorporation 
of  the  city: 

SECTION  83.  That  the  Common  Council  ot"  the  city  of  Chicago,  shall,  by  virtue 
of  their  office,  be  Commissioners  of  Common  Schools  in  and  for  the  said  city,  and  shall 
have  and  possess  all  the  rights,  powers,  and  authority  necessary  for  the  proper  manage- 
ment of  said  schools. 

SECTION  84.  The  said  Common  Council  shall  have  power  to  lay  off  and  divide 
the  said  citv  into  school  districts,  and  from  time  to  time  alter  the  same  and  create  new 
ones,  as  circumstances  may  require. 

SECTION  85.  The  Common  Council  shall  annually  appoint  a  number  of  Inspectors 
of  Common  Schools  in  said  city,  not  exceeding  twelve,  and  not  less  than  five,  and  in 
case  of  a  vacancy  in  the  office,  the  Common  Council  shall  from  time  to  time  appoint 
others;  which  Inspectors,  or  some  of  them,  shall  visit  all  the  Public  Schools  in  said  city 
at  least  once  a  month,  inquire  into  the  progress  of  the  scholars,  and  the  government  of 
the  schools,  examining  all  persons  offering  themselves  as  candidates  for  teachers,  and 
when  found  well  qualified  give  them  certificates  thereof  gratuitously,  and  remove  them 
for  any  good  cause ;  and  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  said  Inspectors  to  report  to  the  Com- 
mon Council,  from  time  to  time,  any  suggestions  and  improvements  that  they  may 
deem  necessary  or  proper  for  the  prosperity  of  said  schools. 

SECTION  86.  That  the  legal  voters  in  each  school  district  shall  annually  elect 
three  persons  to  be  Trustees  of  Common  Schools  therein,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  em- 
ploy qualified  and  suitable  teachers,  to  pay  the  wages  of  such  teachers,  when  qualified, 
out  of  the  money  which  shall  come  into  their  hands  from  the  Commissioner  of 
School  Lands,  so  far  as  such  money  shall  be  sufficient  for  that  purpose,  and  to  collect 
the  residue  of  such  wages  from  all  persons  liable  therefor.  They  shall  call  special  meet- 
ings of  the  inhabitants  of  the  district  liable  to  pay  taxes  whenever  they  shall  deem  it 
necessary  and  proper ;  shall  give  notice  of  the  time  and  place  for  special  district  meet- 
ings at  least  five  days  before  said  meeting  shall  be  held  by  leaving  a  written  or  printed 
notice  thereof  at  the  place  of  abode  of  each  of  said  inhabitants ;  make  out  a  tax  list  of 
every  district  tax  which  the  inhabitants  of  said  district  may,  by  a  vote  of  a  majority 
present,  direct  at  any  meeting,  called  as  aforesaid,  for  that  purpose,  which  list  shall  con- 
tain the  names  of  all  the  taxable  inhabitants  residing  in  the  district  at  the  time  of  making 


io6  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

out  the  list,  and  the  amount  of  tax  payable  by  each  inhabitant  set  opposite  his  name, 
which  tax  may  be  levied  upon  the  real  and  personal  estate  of  said  inhabitants;  they  shall 
annex  to  such  tax  list  a  warrant  directed  to  one  of  the  city  constables  residing  in  the 
ward  in  which  said  district  may  be  for  the  collection  of  the  sums  in  said  list  mentioned, 
and  said  constable  shall  receive  five  cents  on  each  dollar  thereof  for  his  fees.  The  said 
Trustees  shall  have  power  to  purchase  or  lease  a  site  for  the  District  School  house,  as 
designated  by  a  meeting  of  the  district,  and  to  build,  hire  or  purchase,  keep  in  repair  and 
furnish  said  school  house  with  necessary  fuel  and  appendages,  out  of  the  funds  collected 
and  paid  to  them  for  such  purposes. 

SECTION  87.  The  Trustees  of  each  district  shall,  at  the  end  of  every  quarter,  make 
a  report  to  the  School  Inspectors  in  writing,  setting  forth  the  number  of  schools  within 
the  district,  the  time  that  each  has  been  taught  during  the  previous  quarter,  and  by 
whom,  the  number  of  scholars  at  each  school,  and  the  time  of  their  attendance  during 
the  quarter,  to  be  ascertained  from  an  exact  list  or  roll  of  the  scholars'  names  to 
be  kept  by  the  teacher  for  that  purpose,  which  list  shall  be  sworn  to  or  affirmed  by 
said  teacher. 

SECTION  88.  That  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Commissioner  of  School  Lands  in 
Cook  county  to  make,  semi-annually,  to  the  Common  Council  of  said  city,  a  full  and 
correct  report,  in  such  manner  as  they  shall  direct  of  the  state  of  the  school  fund  arising 
from  the  sale  or  lease  of  school  lands  in  township  thirty-nine  north,  range  fourteen  east, 
in  Cook  county,  with  the  interest  accruing  thereon. 

SECTION  89.  The  School  Inspectors  shall  quarterly  apportion  said  school  money 
among  the  several  districts  in  said  city  according  to  the  number  of  scholars  in  each 
school  therein  between  the  ages  of  five  and  twenty-one,  and  also  according  to  the  time 
that  each  scholar  has  actually  attended  such  school  during  the  previous  quarter,  to  be 
ascertained  by  the  reports  of  said  Trustees  and  teachers. 

SECTION  90.  Whenever  the  said  apportionment  shall  have  been  made,  the  School 
Inspectors  shall  make  out  a  schedule  thereof,  setting  forth  the  amount  due  to  each 
district,  the  person  or  persons  entitled  to  receive  the  same,  and  shall  deliver  the  said 
schedule,  together  with  the  report  of  the  Trustees,  and  the  lists  or  rolls  of  the  teachers 
to  the  Common  Council,  and  thereupon  the  said  Common  Council  shall  issue  a  warrant 
directed  to  the  Commissioner  of  School  Lands,  to  pay  over  such  part  of  the  interest  of 
the  school  moneys  of  said  township  as  shall  be  therein  expressed ;  Provided  that  nothing 
herein  contained  shall  authorize  the  expenditure  of  the  principal  of  any  part  of  the 
school  fund. 

SECTION  91.  The  freeholders  and  inhabitants  of  any  school  district  in  the  said 
city,  by  a  vote  of  two-thirds  of  the  persons  present  and  entitled  to  vote,  at  a  meeting  of 
such  district  convened  after  notice  of  the  object  of  said  meeting  shall  have  been  pub- 
lished for  one  week  in  the  corporation  newspaper  of  the  said  city,  and  after  said  notice 
shall  have  been  served  on  every  such  freeholder  or  inhabitant  by  reading  the  same  to 
him,  or,  in  case  of  his  absence,  by  leaving  the  same  at  his  place  of  residence  at  least  five 
days  previous  to  such  meeting,  may  determine  either  separately  or  in  conjunction  with 
any  other  school  district  or  districts  in  the  said  city,  to  have  a  High  School  created  for 
such  district  or  districts  as  shall  so  agree  to  unite  for  that  purpose,  and  may  vote  a  sum 
not  exceeding  five  thousand  dollars  to  be  raised  for  erecting  a  building  for  such  High 
School.  And  on  evidence  of  such  votes,  and  of  such  notice  having  been  published  and 
served  as  above  provided,  being  presented  to  the  Common  Council,  they  may,  in  their 
discretion,  authorize  the  erecting  of  a  High  School  in  such  district,  or  may  authorize  the 
several  districts  so  agreeing  to  be  erected  into  one  district,  which  shall  hereafter  form 
one  school  district,  and  all  the  property,  right  and  interest  of  the  several  districts  so 
united  shall  belong  to  and  be  vested  in  the  Trustees  of  the  said  united  districts,  and  the 
Trustees  thereof  shall  have  all  the  power  of  Trustees  of  school  districts,  shall  be  elected 
in  the  same  manner,  and  shall  be  subject  to  all  the  duties  and  obligations  of  Trustees  of 
Common  School  districts. 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  107 

SECTION  92.  The  Common  Council  shall  annually  publish  on  the  second  Tuesday 
of  February,  in  the  corporation  newspaper  of  the  city,  the  number  of  pupils  instructed 
therein  the  preceding  year,  the  several  branches  of  education  pursued  by  them,  and  the 
receipts  and  expenditures  of  each  school,  specifying  the  sources  of  such  receipts  and 
the  object  of  such  expenditures. 

The  reports  for  the  quarter  ending  November  ist,  1837,  show  the 
following  attendance  at  the  various  schools  then  in  session : 

DISTRICT.  TEACHERS.  PUPILS  ENROLLED. 

One George  C.  Collins u. 

Two James  McClellan 1O* 

Three Hiram  Baker c2 

Five Otis  King '.' .'.'.'.' .'.'.'.'.' 

Seven Edward  Murphy !.....  84 


Total ; ~ 

The  following  rule  governing  the  length  of  terms  of  the  schools  and  de- 
fining what  constituted  one  quarter  of  schooling  was  adopted  August,  1837: 
The  quarters  shall  begin  on  the  first  Mondays  in  February,  May,  August  and 
November,  and  continue  five  and  a  half  days  in  each  week,  which  time  shall  be  under- 
stood to  constitute  one  quarter  of  one  year's  schooling,  and  for  teaching  to  the  satisfac- 
tion of  all  concerned  such  time,  the  teacher  shall  be  entitled  to  one  quarter  of  a  vear's 
salary. 

The  school  house  in  district  number  five  was  located  on  the  west  side 
of  Canal  street,  a  little  north  of  Lake  street,  opposite  the  old  building  still 
standing  on  the  northeast  corner  of  Canal  and  Lake  streets,  known  at  that 
time  as  the  Green  Tree  Hotel.  During  the  Winter  of  1838,  it  was  taught 
by  Mr.  C.  S.  Bailey,  who  was  succeeded  in  the  Spring  of  1838  by 
Calvin  DeWolf.  The  school  numbered  about  sixty  pupils,  several  of  whom 
were  Indian  children.  An  Indian  family,  by  the  name  of  Laframboise, 
lived  a  little  south  of  the  school  building  on  Canal  street.  This  school  was 
subsequently  taught  for  a  short  time  by  Thomas  Hoyne. 

The  following  amendment  was  made  to  the  provisions  of  the  city 
charter  for  carrying  on  the  Public  Schools  of  the  city,  by  an  Act  of  the 
State  legislature,  approved  March  ist,  1839: 

SECTION  i.  That  the  school  lands  and  the  school  funds  of  township  thirty-nine 
Tiorth,  range  fourteen  east  of  third  principal  meridian,  be,  and  the  same  are  hereby 
vested  in  the  city  of  Chicago ;  and  the  Common  Council  of  said  city  shall  at  all  times 
have  power  to  do  all  acts  and  things  in  relation  to  said  school  lands  and  school  funds 
which  they  may  think  proper  to  their  safe  preservation  and  efficient  management! 
and  to  sell  or  lease  said  lands  on  such  terms  and  at  such  times  as  the  said  Common 
Council  shall  deem  most  advantageous,  and  on  such  sale  or  sales,  leasing  or  leasings, 
execute  and  deliver  all  proper  conveyances  therefor;  which  said  conveyances  shall  be 
signed  by  the  Mavor  of  said  city,  and  countersigned  by  the  Clerk  thereof,  and  sealed 
with  the  corporate  seal  of  said  city ;  Provided,  That  the  proceeds  arising  from  such  sales 
shall  be  added  to  and  constitute  a  part  of  the  school  fund  of  said  township;  and  Pro- 
vided, that  nothing  shall  be  done  to  impair  the  principal  of  said  fund,  or  to  appropriate 
interest  accruing  from  the  same  to  any  other  purpose  than  the  support  of  Public  Schools 
in  said  township;  and  Provided  further,  that  any  schools  established  in  said  township, 
and  without  the  limits  of  said  city  shall  be  entitled  to  the  same  benefits  and  advantages 
from  said  fund  as  they  would  be  without  the  passage  of  this  Act. 

SECTION  2.     It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Commissioner  of  School  Lands  for  Cook 


loS  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

county  to  deliver  to  such  person  or  persons  as  the  Common  Council  of  the  city  of 
Chicago  shall  direct,  all  the  books,  papers,  notes,  mortgages,  or  other  evidences  of  debt 
belonging  to  said  school  fund  of  said  township  thirty-nine,  and  all  moneys  belonging  to 
the  same,  taking  the  receipt  of  such  person  or  persons  therefor,  which  said  receipt  shall 
be  a  full  indemnity  to  him  for  so  doing. 

SECTION  3.  The  Common  Council  of  Chicago  shall  have  power  to  raise  all 
sufficient  sum  or  sums  of  money,  by  taxing  the  real  and  personal  estate  in  said  city  for 
the  following  purposes,  to  wit :  to  build  school  houses,  to  establish,  support  and  maintain 
Common  and  Public  Schools,  and  to  supply  the  inadequacy  of  the  school  fund  for  the 
payment  of  teachers ;  to  purchase  or  lease  a  site  or  sites  for  school  houses ;  to  erect,  hire, 
or  purchase  buildings  suitable  for  said  school  houses ;  to  keep  in  repair  and  furnish  the 
same  with  necessary  fixtures  and  furniture  whenever  they  may  deem  it  expedient;  and 
the  taxes  for  that  purpose  shall  be  assessed  and  collected  in  the  same  manner  that  other 
city  taxes  are  or  may  be.  The  said  Common  Council  shall  also  have  power  to  fix  the 
amount  of  the  compensation  to  be  allowed  to  teachers  in  the  different  schools,  to  pre- 
scribe the  school  books  to  be  used  and  the  studies  to  be  taught  in  the  different  schools, 
and  pass  all  such  ordinances  and  by-laws  as  they  may  from  time  to  time  deem  necessary 
in  relation  to  said  schools,  and  the  government  and  management  of  the  same,  and  of  the 
school  lands  and  funds  belonging  to  the  said  township. 

SECTION  4.  The  said  Common  Council  shall  annually  appoint  seven  persons  for 
Inspectors  of  Common  Schools,  and  three  persons  in  each  district  to  be  Trustees  of 
Common  Schools  in  and  for  said  district,  whose  powers  and  duties  shall  be  prescribed 
by  the  said  Common  Council. 

SECTION  5.  Sections  eighty-five,  eighty-six,  eighty-seven,  eighty-eight,  eighty- 
nine,  ninety,  and  ninety-one  of  the  Act  entitled  "An  Act  to  incorporate  the  city  of 
Chicago,"  passed  March  4th,  1837,  and  all  other  Acts  and  parts  of  Acts  coming  within 
the  purview  of  this  Act  be,  and  the  same  are,  hereby  repealed  so  far  as  they  relate  to- 
the  said  township  thirty-nine,  or  the  city  of  Chicago.  ' 

Early  in  the  year  1840  the  charge  of  the  school  fund  was  transferred 
from  the  Commissioner  of  School  Lands  for  Cook  county  to  the  School 
Agent,  William  H.  Brown,  who  discharged  the  duties  of  the  office  for 
a  period  of  thirteen  years,  ten  years  of  which  he  served  without  cost. 

The  report  of  the  Commissioner  of  School  Lands  shows  the  condition 
of  the  school  fund  at  the  close  of  the  year  1839  to  have  been  as  follows: 

Loaned  on  personal  security,  not  in  suit $11  564  22 

Loaned  on  mortgage,  not  in  suit 12  437  74 

Amount  in  suit 6  15415  oo. 

Amount   in  judgment 7  366  36 

Included  in  note  given  for  interest 64  oo 

Total  securities $37  977  32 

Cash  on  hand 648  15 

Total $38  625  47 

The  first  written  records  of  the  School  Inspectors  commenced  in  No- 
vember, 1840.  The  first  step  toward  uniformity  of  text  books  to  be  used 
in  the  schools  was  taken  December  9th,  1840,  when  Worcester's  Primer, 
Parley's  First,  Second  and  Third  Books  of  History,  and  an  Elementary 
Speller  were  adopted. 

In  October,  1840,  the  Board  of  School  Inspectors  recommended  the 
organization  of  the  city  into  four  school  districts;,  district  number  one  to- 
comprise  the  first  ward,  being  at  that  time,  that  portion  of  the  South 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  109 

Division  of  the  city  lying  east  of  Clark  street;  district  number  two  to  com- 
prise the  second  ward,  being  that  part  of  the  South  Division  lying  between 
Clark  street  and  the  South  Branch  of  the  river;  district  number  three  to 
comprise  the  third  and  fourth  wards,  being  the  entire  West  Division  of 
the  city;  and  district  number  four  to  comprise  the  fifth  and  sixth  wards, 
being  the  entire  North  Division  of  the  city.  In  November,  1840, 
the  School  Inspectors  recommended  that,  in  view  of  the  necessities  of  the 
children,  the  Trustees  of  each  district  be  directed  to  procure  immediately 
rooms  in  which  to  hold  schools,  and  take  all  necessary  steps  to  put  the 
schools  in  operation,  also  that  a  tax  of  one  mill  be  levied  for  the  support  of 
schools. 

The  school  building  in  district  number  one,  the  only  one  owned  by 
the  city,  was  located  where  the  Tribune  building  now  stands,  corner  of 
Madison  and  Dearborn  streets;  the  building  in  district  number  two,  was 
on  the  north  side  of  Randolph  street,  about  midway  between  Fifth  avenue 
and  Franklin  street;  the  building  in  district  number  three,  was  on  West 
Monroe  street,  facing  south,  a  little  west  of  Canal  street;  and  the  building 
in  district  number  four  was  on  the  corner  of  Cass  and  Kinzie  streets. 

In  June,  1841,  the  School  Inspectors  reported  that  for  the  four  months 
ending  in  March,  there  had  been  expended  $563.32  for  teachers,  and 
$520.94  for  fuel,  rent  of  school-houses,  repairs,  etc.;  that  upon  the  present 
plan  it  would  require  $1,800  to  pay  the  teachers  for  one  year;  that  it  would 
be  necessary  to  levy  a  tax  of  one-tenth  of  one  per  cent,  upon  all  the  tax- 
able property  of  the  city. 

The  School  Inspectors  voted,  March  loth,  1842,  that  a  school  be 
established  in  the  Dutch  Settlement,  provided  that  a  school  house  be  fur- 
nished; and  on  the  sixteenth  of  the  same  month  they  recommended  to  the 
Common  Council  that  the  materials  for  building  a  school  house  in 
the  Dutch  Settlement  be  furnished,  provided  the  inhabitants  would  build  the 
house.  The  cost  to  the  city  of  this  building,  was  two  hundred  and  eleven 
dollars.  The  Dutch  Settlement  was  in  district  number  four,  in '  the 
North  Division  of  the  city,  on  what  was  known  as  the  Green  Bay 
road,  between  Chicago  and  North  avenues.  The  school  was  known  as 
school  number  three,  fourth  district,  and  was  continued  till  the  permanent 
building  was  erected  on  the  corner  of  Ohio  and  LaSalle  streets.  After  the 
opening  of  the  new  building  this  building  was  vacated. 

In  January,  1846,  a  petition,  signed  by  residents  of  this  neighborhood, 
known,  as  stated  in  their  petition,  as  "New  Buffalo,"  was  submitted  to 
the  City  Council,  stating  that  the  school  had  been  discontinued  since  the 
opening  of  the  new  building,  and  asking  the  privilege  of  opening  a  Ger- 
man school  in  the  building,  to  be  kept  at  their  own  expense,  and  offering 
to  purchase  the  building,  stating  that  at  the  time  of  its  erection  the  city 
had  advanced  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  and  that  the  balance  had 
been  supplied  by  themselves.  In  answer  to  this  petition  it  was  ordered  by 
the  Common  Council,  January  3Oth,  1846:  That  the  Mayor  and  Clerk 
issue  a  deed,  under  the  seal  of  the  city,  of  the  school  house  in  the  Dutch 


1 10  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

Settlement  to  Michael  Diversy  and  Peter  Gabel,  to  be  used  for  a  German 
school  in  that  settlement,  upon  said  Diversy  and  Gabel  executing  a  note 
to  the  school  fund  for  one  hundred  and  ten  dollars,  payable  in  twelve 
months. 

March  loth,  1842,  the  School  Inspectors  voted  that  the  Chairman  and 
Secretary  be  authorized  to  apply  to  the  Board  of  Commissioners  of  the 
Illinois  and  Michigan  canal  to  set  apart  and  designate  such  lots  as  may  be 
selected  by  this  Board  for  the  use  of  Common  Schools.  The  following 
lots  were  selected  by  the  School  Inspectors: 

For  District  No.  i. — Lot  six,  block  fifty-eight,  original  town,  the 
ground  on  which  Dearborn  School  building  was  located,  and  which  is 
now  occupied  by  the  Crystal  Block  and  Hershey  Music  Hall. 

For  District  No.  2. — Lot  six,  block  fifty-five,  original  town,  on  the 
north  side  of  Madison  street,  between  LaSalle  street  and  Fifth  avenue, 
and  at  present  occupied  by  the  Wadsworth  building,  numbers  175  to  181 
East  Madison  street. 

For  District  No.  3. — Lot  nine,  block  fifty,  original  town,  situated 
on  the  northwest  corner  of  Madison  and  Canal  streets. 

For  District  No.  4. — Lot  five,  block  four,  original  town,  on  North 
Wells  street,  opposite  the  Northwestern  railroad  depot,  and  running 
from  Kinzie  street  to  South  Water  street. 

In  May,  1842,  the  School  Inspectors  adopted  the  following  resolution: 
"That  the  School  Trustees  of  school  district  number  three  be  authorized 
to  employ  a  female  teacher  in  said  district,  at  a  salary  not  exceeding  two 
hundred  dollars  per  annum,  for  six  months,  payable  in  Illinois  State  bank 
bills,  or  currency  when  the  tax  is  collected,  and  to  hire  a  house  for  the 
same;  Provided  it  is  fitted  up  and  furnished  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  dis- 
trict at  their  own  expense;  and  that  a  female  school  be  established  in  the 
second  district  on  the  same  terms." 

The  following  is  a  report  of  average  attendance  and  of  expenditures 
for  schools,  during  the  year  1842 : 

No.  of  Average  Paid  Incidental  Total 

Districts.         Schools.       Attendance.        Teachers.  Expenses.  Expenses. 

First 2 107 $  595  ii $  92  21 $    687  32 

Second 2 96 479  19 200  20 679  39 

Third 2.....^ 71 479  19 11990 599  09 

Fourth 3 " 182 69574 43412 1,12986 

Total 9 456 $2  249  23 $846  43 $3  095  66 

Teacher  of  Music 356  50 

Printing,  etc 2500 

Expenses  of  School  Fund 397  18 

Total  Expenditures  for  the  year $3)874  34 

The  annual  report  of  the  Inspectors  for  1843,  states  that  the  average 
membership  for  the  month  of  December,  1842,  was  four  hundred  and 
thirty-six;  and  for  December,  1843,  it  was  five  hundred  and  eighty-nine, 
an  increase  of  one  hundred  and  fifty-three.  The  total  expenditures  for  the 
year  1843,  were  three  thousand  and  five  hundred  and  eighty-two  dollars 
and  fifty-one  cents;  the  number  of  teachers  was  eight. 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  m 

In  May,  1844,  the  first  step  was  taken  toward  the  erection  of  a  perma- 
nent school  building.  The  School  Inspectors  at  that  date  recommended 
the  erection  of  a  spacious  brick  building  for  school  number  one.  The 
subject  was  taken  under  advisement  by  the  Common  Council  during  the 
same  month,  and  on  the  ninth  of  May,  1844,  tne  Committee  on  Schools, 
Ira  Miltimore,  Chairman,  presented  a  report  recommending  the  erection  of 
a  good,  permanent  brick  school  house,  on  the  school  lot  in  the  first  ward, 
sixty  by  eighty  feet,  two  stories  high;  to  be  fitted  up  on  the  best  and  most 
approved  plan,  with  particular  reference  to  the  health,  comfort  and  con- 
venience both  of  scholars  and  teachers.  The  lower  story  of  this  building 
was  completed,  ready  for  occupancy  about  the  middle  of  January,  1845, 
and  the  whole  building  was  completed  in  the  following  Spring.  It  was 
known  as  school  number  one,  till  early  in  the  year  1858,  when  it  received 
the  name  of  the  Dearborn  School.  It  was  located  on  Madison  street, 
opposite  McVicker's  Theater,  on  the  ground  now  occupied  by  the  Crystal 
Block,  the  Recorder's  Office,  and  Hershey  Music  Hall.  The  building  was 
regarded  by  many,  at  the  time,  as  far  beyond  the  needs  of  the  city,  and  the 
Mayor  of  the  city,  Augustus  Garrett,  in  his  inaugural  address,  in  1845, 
recommended  that  the  "Big  School  House"  be  either  sold  or  converted 
into  an  insane  asylum,  and  that  one  more  suitable  to  the  wants  of  the  city 
be  provided.  The  building  was  also  pointed  to  as  "Miltimore's  Folly." 

Upon  the  opening  of  the  building,  districts  numbers  one  and  two 
were  consolidated  into  one  district,  and  were  accommodated  in  this  build- 
ing; and  from  this  time  till  the  opening  of  the  new  building  on  block  one 
hundred  and  thirteen,  school  section  addition,  afterward  known  as  the 
Jones  School,  the  reports  are  headed  districts  one  and  two.  One  year  after 
the  opening  of  the  building  there  were  enrolled  in  the  school  five  hundred 
and  forty-three  pupils,  at  the  end  of  the  second  year  six  hundred  and  sixty 
pupils,  and  at  the  end  of  the  third  year  eight  hundred  and  sixty-four  pupils. 

The  Dearborn  School  building  was  used  for  school  purposes  till  the 
close  of  the  school  year  in  June,  1871,  when  the  lot  was  leased  by  the 
Common  Council  to  Rand,  McNally  &  Company,  and  a  building  known 
as  Johnson  Hall,  located  on  Wabash  avenue  near  Monroe  street,  was  rented 
for  the  accommodation  of  the  school  at  a  rental  of  thirty-six  hundred  dol- 
lars per  annum.  The  school  was  continued  after  the  Summer  vacation 
of  1871,  in  Johnson  Hall,  under  the  charge  of  Alice  L.  Barnard,  as 
Principal,  until  the  great  fire  of  October  8th  and  9th,  1871,  swept  over 
the  whole  territory  of  the  Dearborn  School  district,  when  the  organization 
of  the  Dearborn  School  became  extinct. 

In  May,  1845,  the  Trustees  of  the  respective  school  districts  were 
authorized  to  pay  male  teachers  not  to  exceed  five  hundred  dollars  per 
annum,  the  salaries  hitherto  being  four  hundred  dollars  per  annum  for 
male  teachers,  and  two  hundred  dollars  per  annum  for  female  teachers.  lii 
the  previous  March  the  question  of  the  erection  of  a  permanent  building  in 
district  number  four,  in  the  North  Division  of  the  city,  was  agitated ;  and 
in  June,  1845,  tne  Committee  on  Schools  of  the  Common  Council,  pre- 


ii2  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

sented  a  report  recommending  the  erection  of  a  school  building  in  district 
number  four,  forty-five  by  seventy  feet,  two  stones  high,  and  the  location 
of  the  building  on  the  corner  of  Ohio  and  LaSalle  streets;  and  the  building 
was  erected. 

The  Scammon  School  building — torn  down  in  1880 — was  erected  on 
the  school  lot  at  the  corner  of  Madison  and  Halsted  streets  in  1846-7. 

November  I3th,  1846,  an  order  was  passed  by  the  Common  Council 
authorizing  the  employment  of  a  teacher  in  the  southern  part  of  the  first 
and  second  wards,  upon  receiving  notification  from  the  Mayor  and  School 
Committee  that  a  suitable  school-room  had  been  prepared  in  a  proper 
place,  and  upon  condition  that  said  teacher  be  employed  from  month  to 
month,  instead  of  by  the  year.  This  was  the  first  beginning  of  what  is 
now  known  as  the  Jones  School.  The  school  was  taught  by  Alice 
L.  Barnard,  now  Principal  of  the  Jones  School,  and  was  located  corner  of 
Wabash  avenue  and  Twelfth  street. 

In  July,  1848,  a  school  was  opened  at  Bridgeport,  and  the  teacher  was 
paid  for  two  months,  when  the  School  Inspectors  discovered  that  there  was 
no  authority  for  a  continuance  of  the  school,  and  the  school  was  closed. 

September  nth,  1848,  the  Committee  on  Schools  reported  that  they 
had  purchased  at  the  sale  of  canal  lands,  lot  thirteen,  block  twenty-two, 
fractional  section  fifteen,  for  a  site  for  a  school  house,  for  six  hundred  and 
thirty  dollars.  This  lot  is  located  on  the  northwest  corner  of  Wabash 
avenue  and  Twelfth  street,  and  is  the  lot  on  which  the  building  stood  in 
which  the  school  in  the  southern  part  of  districts  numbers  one  and  two 
was  located.  This  lot  was  occupied  for  school  purposes  till  about  the  time 
the  Haven  School  was  built.  The  school  in  this  building  was  taught  by 
Alice  L.  Barnard. 

In  July,  1849,  an  order  was  passed  authorizing  the  purchase  of  the  lot 
on  which  the  Franklin  School  now  stands. 

In  February,  1851,  the  Common  Council  authorized  the  Committee 
on  Schools  to  advertise  for  proposals  for  a  school  site  in  the  sixth  ward? 
north  of  Kinzie  street,  and  about  the  same  distance  west  of  the  river  as 
school  number  three;  and  also  to  procure  plans  for  a  building,  and  at  the 
meeting  of  the  Council,  April  28th,  1851,  a  proposition  of  Henry  Smith, 
agent,  to  sell  lots  twelve  to  sixteen  (both  inclusive)  in  block  fourteen, 
Ogden's  addition,  for  the  sum  of  twelve  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  was 
accepted,  and  the  Mayor  and  Clerk  were  authorized  to  issue  a  city  bond 
for  this  amount,  payable  in  one  year,  bearing  ten  per  cent,  interest.  This 
is  the  site  now  occupied  by  the  Sangamon  Street  School,  formerly  known 
as  the  Washington  School,  corner  of  Indiana  and  Sangamon  streets. 

May  30th,  1851,  the  Common  Council  passed  an  order  authorizing 
and  empowering  the  Committee  on  Schools  and  the  Mayor  to  negotiate  a 
loan  of  eight  thousand  dollars  to  be  expended  in  erecting  school  houses  in 
the  North  and  West  Divisions  of  the  city,  payable  in  two  years  from  the 
first  day  of  June,  1851;  and  also  an  order  authorizing  the  Committee 
on  Schools,  together  with  the  Board  of  Inspectors,  to  adopt  plans  for  said 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  ii-j 

buildings,  to  advertise  for  proposals  for  their  erection  and  to  let  the  same 
to  the  lowest  bidders,  provided  the  cost  of  the  same  shall  not  exceed  four 
thousand  dollars  each.  The  order  authorizing  the  loaning  of  eight  thou- 
sand dollars  was  repealed  at  a  subsequent  meeting  of  the  Council,  Septem- 
ber i9th,  1851,  and  an  order  was  adopted  in  its  stead  authorizing  the  issue 
of  city  bonds,  payable  in  two  years  from  June  1st,  1851.  July  2d,  1851,  the 
Committee  on  Schools  reported  proposals  received  for  the  erection  of  these 
buildings,  one  to  be  located  corner  of  Division  and  Sedgwick  streets 
(Franklin  School  building)  and  the  other  corner  of  Indiana  and  Sangamon 
streets  (now  known  as  Sangamon  Street  School  building,  formerly  known 
as  the  Washington  School  building)  and  an  order  was  passed  authorizing 
the  award  of  contracts  at  a  slight  advance  on  the  amount  fixed,  four  thou- 
sand dollars  each.  The  Washington  and  Franklin  School  buildings  having 
been  completed  were  opened  in  January,  1852. 

In  1853  J°hn  D.  Philbrick,  Principal  of  the  State  Normal  School, 
New  Britain,  Connecticut,  was  elected  Superintendent  of  Schools,  at  a 
salary  of  fifteen  hundred  dollars  per  annum.  Mr.  Philbrick  declined  to 
accept  the  position;  and  March  6th,  1854,  John  C.  Dore,  Principal  of  the 
Boylston  Grammar  School  of  Boston,  Massachusetts,  was  elected.  Mr. 
Dore  assumed  the  duties  of  Superintendent  of  Schools  in  June,  1854,  and 
resigned  March  I5th,  1856,  being  succeeded  by  William  H.  Wells,  Princi- 
pal of  the  Normal  School  at^Westfield,  Massachusetts.  At  the  time  of  the 
establishment  of  the  office  of  Superintendent  of  Schools,  the  enrollment  of 
pupils  was  about  three  thousand  and  the  number  of  teachers  was  thirty-five. 

On  February  ipth,  1855,  an  order  was  passed  by  the  Common  Council, 
directing  the  Committee  on  Schools  to  receive  proposals  for  the  erection  of 
two  wooden  school  houses,  forty-five  by  twenty-six  feet,  two  stories  high, 
one  on  the  lot  west  of  Union  Park  (Brown  School)  and  the  other  on  the 
lot  now  known  as  the  Foster  School  lot.  March  5th,  1855,  authority  was 
given  to  the  Mayor  and  Clerk  to  enter  into  contract  for  the  erection  of 
these  buildings,  which  were  to  be  completed  by  June  fifteenth,  at  a  cost 
not  to  exceed  two  thousand  and  eighty-seven  dollars  each. 

In  March,  1856,  contracts  were  awarded  for  the  erection  of  the 
Moseley  and  Ogden  School  buildings,  and  in  April  of  the  same  year  a 
petition  of  residents  of  the  North  Division  was  presented,  asking  that  the 
Ogden  School  building  be  erected  on  the  lot  on  Chestnut  street,  east  of 
Clark;  and  the  site  which  was  ordered  purchased  in  August,  1855,  at 
eleven  thousand  and  forty-one  dollars  and  twenty-five  cents,  but  which  was 
not  done,  was  purchased  at  this  time  at  a  cost  of  eleven  thousand  and  seven 
hundred  and  ninety  dollars  and  seventy-nine  cents,  the  advance  in  price 
being  allowance  for  interest  during  the  period  elapsing  since  the  original 
order  to  purchase  was  passed. 

December  29th,  1855,  Flavel  Moseley,  an  active  supporter  of  the 
Public  School  System  of  the  city,  and  member  of  the  Board  of  Education 
from  1850  to  1864,  established  the  Moseley  Public  School  Book  Fund, 
bv  a  donation  of  one  thousand  dollars,  the  annual  interest  upon  which  was 


114  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

to  be  expended  in  the  purchase  of  text-books  for  children  attending  the 
Public  Schools  of  the  city,  whose  parents  were  unable  to  furnish  them 
with  the  necessary  books.  This  fund  was  increased  in  the  year  1867  by  a 
bequest  of  ten  thousand  dollars,  made  by  Mr.  Moseley,  at  his  death,  so  that 
the  fund  now  amounts  to  eleven  thousand  dollars. 

In  April,  1856,  Elias  Greenebaum  was  elected  school  agent,  and  served 
till  March,  1857,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  Eugene  C.  Long. 

During  the  month  of  February,  1857,  Dr.  John  H.  Foster,  a  member 
of  the  Board  of  Education,  donated  to  the  city  one  thousand  dollars,  the 
interest  on  which  is  to  be  used  by  the  Board  of  Education  and  the  Superin- 
tendent of  Schools  in  the  purchase  of  gold,  silver  or  bronze  medals,  or 
diplomas,  to  be  awarded  to  the  most  deserving  scholars  in  the  different 
departments  of  the  Public  Grammar  Schools  of  the  city. 

March  23d,  1857,  authority  was  granted  by  the  Common  Council  to 
procure  plans  for  permanent  buildings  in  school  districts  numbers  eight  and 
nine  (Brown  and  Foster  School  districts)  and  in  July  of  the  same  year 
authority  was  granted  to  heat  the  school  building  in  district  number  eight 
(Brown  School)  with  steam.  This  was  the  first  school  building  heated  by 
steam.  These  buildings  were  opened  about  the  commencement  of 
the  year  1858.  The  two  story  frame  building  which  had  been  used  by  the 
Brown  School  since  1855,  was  removed  shortly  after  the  completion  of 
the  new  building,  to  the  Wells  School  lot,  corner  of  Ashland  avenue  and 
Cornelia  street,  a  little  over  one  mile  north,  and  after  the  erection  of  the 
permanent  building  on  the  Wells  School  lot,  in  1866,  it  was  again  removed 
to  the  Burr  School  lot,  corner  of  Ashland  and  Waubansia  avenues,  about 
a  mile  distant,  remaining  in  this  location  till  the  permanent  building  was 
erected  on  this  lot,  in  1873,  when  it  was  again  removed  to  the  Wicker  Park 
School  lot,  on  Evergreen  avenue,  near  Robey  street,  a  little  over  a  mile, 
where  it  is  still  in  use,  an  addition  having  been  made  to  the  building  while 
on  the  Burr  School  lot. 

In  1858,  William  Jones,  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Education 
from  1840  to  1848,  donated  to  the  city  one  thousand  dollars,  the  interest  on 
which  was  to  be  expended  in  purchasing  text-books,  slates,  etc.,  for  indigent 
children  attending  the  Jones  School;  and  in  furnishing  books  of  reference, 
maps,  globes  and  such  other  apparatus  as  may  be  desirable  in  said  school. 
In  June  of  this  year  the  Common  Council  authorized,  upon  the  recommen- 
dation of  the  Board  of  Education,  the  purchase  of  the  site  for  the  New- 
berry  School,  for  forty-five  hundred  dollars;  also  the  award  of  contracts 
for  the  erection  of  the  school  building  in  accordance  with  plans  submitted; 
and  in  July,  1858,  the  purchase  of  the  Wells  School  lot  for  two  thousand 
and  one  hundred  and  fifty-two  dollars  and  fifty  cents,  was  authorized. 

September  I5th,  1858,  the  Board  of  Education  instructed  the  com- 
mittee on  buildings  and  grounds,  to  erect  a  school  building  on  the  lot 
corner  of  Wabash  avenue  and  Twelfth  street,  at  a  cost  not  to  exceed  fifteen 
hundred  dollars.  This  building  was  a  two  story  frame  building,  one  room 
on  each  floor,  and  remained  on  this  site  till  the  erection  of  the  Haven 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  115 

School  building,  when  the  lot  was  sold  and  the  building  removed  to  the 
Jones  School  lot,  on  the  corner  of  Harrison  and  Griswold  streets,  and 
joined  to  another  frame  building  standing  on  this  lot  which  had  been  used 
as  an  engine  house.  These  frame  buildings  escaped  destruction  at  the  time 
of  the  great  fire,  the  fire  passing  over  them,  but  destroying  the  main 
building  of  the  Jones  School,  standing  on  Clark  street.  They  were  occu- 
pied by  the  police  department  after  the  fire,  until  the  erection  of  their  new 
buildings  on  the  same  site — the  frame  buildings  having  been  removed  to 
the  Clark  street  front  of  the  Jones  School  lot,  where  they  still  stand. 
During  the  year  1859,  a  clerk  was  first  employed  in  the  office  of  the 
Superintendent  of  Schools,  and  Samuel  Hall  served  in  this  capacity  till 
February,  1860,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  Shepherd  Johnston.  At 
the  session  of  the  legislature  during  the  Winter  of  1867,  provision  was 
made  for  the  appointment  by  the  Board  of  a  Clerk  of  the  Board  of  Edu- 
cation, and  April  zd,  1867,  Shepherd  Johnston  was  elected  to  such  position 
and  still  serves  in  that  capacity. 

During  March,  i86i,the  Board  of  Education  adopted  a  graded  course 
of  instruction   prepared    by  the   Superintendent  of  Schools,  William    H. 
Wells,  which  was  the  beginning  of  the  thoroughly  graded   system  upon 
which  our  Public  Schools  are  based  at  the  present  time.    This  was  the  first 
attempt  to  embody  an  extended  graded  course  of  instruction,  and  imme- 
diately on  its  publication  itx  was  extensively   copied    by   other  cities,  with 
various  modifications  to  adapt  it  to  their  several  needs.    October  2 1st,  1861, 
authority  was  granted  by  the  Common  Council  to  award  the  contract  for 
the  erection  of  the  four  room  frame  building  on  the  Scammon  School  lot. 
In    1862,  Walter  L.    Newberry,  for  several   years  a  member  of  the 
Board,  and  President  of  the  Board  during  the  years  1863-4,  presented  the  city 
a  city  bond   for  one  thousand  dollars,  to  be  held   in  trust  for  the  benefit  of 
the   Newberry    School,  the   semi-annual  interest  thereon  to   be   applied 
under  the  direction  of  the  authorities  having  charge  of  the  school,  first,  to 
the  purchase  of  text  books  and  stationery  for  indigent   children   attending 
said  school,  and  any  surplus  thereafter  to  be  used  for  the  purchase  of  school 
apparatus,  such  as  maps,  globes,  etc.,  and   books   of  reference;  and  should 
these  wants  of  said  school  be  at  any  time  supplied   from  other  sources,  the 
authorities  aforesaid  are  authorized  to  expend  said  interest  for  such  purposes 
beneficial  to  said  school   as  they  may  deem  proper.      In   May,  1862,  the 
Common  Council  authorized  the  erection  of  branch  buildings  on  the  Kin- 
zie,  Franklin,  Washington  and  Foster  School  lots. 

By  an  act  of  the  State  legislature,  approved  February  i3th,  1863,  the 
limits  of  the  city  were  extended  so  as  to  take  in  the  South  Chicago,  Bridge- 
port and  Holstein  Schools.  The  South  Chicago  School  occupied  a  small 
frame  building,  located  on  Douglas  avenue,  near  South  Park  avenue,  which, 
upon  the  opening  of  the  Cottage  Grove  School  building  in  1867,  was 
moved  to  Twenty-sixth  street,  near  Wentworth  avenue,  and  served  as  a 
branch  of  the  Moseley  School  till  the  opening  of  the  Ward  School  build- 
ing in  1875,  when  the  building  was  sold.  The  Bridgeport  School  occupied 


ii6  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

the  south  half  of  the  front  part  of  what  is  now  known  as  the  Archer 
Avenue  School  building.  This  building  was  enlarged  during  the  Fall  of 
1863,  by  the  addition  of  two  rooms  on  what  is  now  the  front  of  the  build- 
ing; and  was  again  enlarged  by  the  addition  of  two  rooms  in  the  rear  of 
the  building,  during  the  Summer  of  1864.  The  building  occupied  by  the 
Holstein  School  is  now  known  as  the  Holstein  branch  of  the  Wicker  Park 
School.  The  same  act  also  provided  that  the  Board  of  Education  should 
consist  of  fifteen  members,  to  be  elected  by  the  Common  Council  on  or 
before  the  first  Monday  of  June  next;  the  remaining  provisions  of  the 
section  relating  to  the  membership  of  the  Board  being  the  same  as  in 
the  Act  of  1857. 

In  June,  1864,  William  H.  Wells  tendered  his  resignation  as  Superin- 
tendent of  Schools,  to  take  effect  at  the  close  of  the  school  year,  and 
Josiah  L.  Pickard,  State  Superintendent  of  Schools  of  Wisconsin,  was 
elected  to  fill  the  vacancy,  entering  upon  his  duties  in  September,  1864. 

Jonathan  Burr,  in  his  last  will  and  testament,  proved  in  Probate  Court, 
February  25th,  1869,  after  making  certain  specific  bequests  to  relatives  and 
various  public  institutions,  ordered  and  directed  that  all  the  rest  and  residue 
of  his  property  and  estate  be  converted  into  money  and  cash  securities,  and 
be  divided  into  eleven  equal  parts,  one  of  which  parts  was  to  be  given 
to  the  city  of  Chicago,  to  be*  held  in  trust  by  said  city,  the  annual  income  to 
be  paid   over  to  the  Board  of  Education  of  said  city,  to  be  expended  by 
them  for  the  use  and  benefit  of  the  Public  Schools  of  said  city,  in  procuring 
books  of  reference,  maps,  charts,  illustrative  -apparatus,  and  works  of  taste 
and  art,  at  the  discretion  of  said  Board,  and  in  case  the  city  fails  or  neglects 
at  any  time  to  provide  the  necessary  text-books  and   slates,  for  the  use  of 
worthy  indigent  children  attending   said   Public  Schools,  then  the  Board 
of  Education  i$  authorized  and  directed,  at  its  discretion,  to  use  and  expend 
the  whole  or  any  part  of  said  income  for  supplying  the  necessary  text- 
books and  slates.     The  principal  of  this   fund  now  amounts  to  nineteen 
thousand  and  six  hundred  and  seventy-one  dollars  and  nine  cents.    During 
the  Summer  of  1869,  the  question  of  the  employment  of  an  assistant  to  the 
Superintendent  of  Schools  was  first   considered,  and   there  being   no  pro- 
vision for  the  office  of  Assistant  Superintendent  of  Schools,  at  the  meeting 
of  September  28th,  1869,  George    D.  Broomell,  Principal  of  the  Haven 
School,  was  elected  extra  teacher  with  the  salary  of  a  principal,  to  serve 
as  assistant  to  the   Superintendent.     Mr.  Broomell   filled   the  position  till 
October,  1870,  when  he  resigned  and  was  elected  teacher  in  the  High  School, 
and  Francis  Hanford,  Principal  of  the  Franklin  School,  was  elected  assist- 
ant to  the  Superintendent.     Mr.  Hanford  remained  in  the  position  till  the 
fire    in    October,    1871.       During    the    school    year  succeeding   the    fire, 
the  services  of  the  assistant  to  the  Superintendent  were  dispensed  with,  and 
Mr.  Hanford  was  assigned  to  duty  as  Principal  of  the  Lincoln  School.    At 
the  election  of  officers  in  July,  1872,  Mr.  Hanford  was   again  elected,  this 
time  under  the  title  of  Assistant  Superintendent  of  Schools,  and  filled  the 
position  till  July,  1875,  when  he  resigned   and  was  elected    Principal  of 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 


117 


the  North  Division  High  School.  August  3ist,  1875,  Leslie  Lewis 
was  elected  to  the  position  for  the  balance  of  the  unexpired  year,  and  at  the 
annual  election  of  officers,  September  I4th,  1875,  Duane  Doty,  who  had 
been  Superintendent  of  Schools  of  the  city  of  Detroit  for  nine  years,  was 
elected  and  was  succeeded  in  June,  1877,  by  Edward  C.  Delano,  who  still 
holds  the  position. 

The  great  fire  of  October  8th  and  9th,  1871,  destroyed  ten  school 
buildings  owned  by  the  city,  one  in  the  South  Division,  and  nine  in  the 
North  Division,  leaving  but  two  school  buildings  in  the  North  Division — 
the  Newberry  and  Lincoln.  The  following  table  shows  the  school  build- 
ings destroyed,  and  the  loss  sustained  by  the  city: 


SCHOOL    BUILDINGS. 

DIVISION. 

LOCATION. 

VALUE. 

Jones  

South,  .  .  . 

Cor.  Clark  and  Harrison  streets  

$13  I7O 

Kinzie  and  Branch  

North  

Cor.  Ohio  and  LaSalle  streets  

21   3QO 

Franklin  and  Branch.  .  . 

North  

Cor.  Division  and  Sedgwick  streets  

77  IQ? 

Ogden  

North.  .  .  . 

Chestnut  between  State  and  Dearborn  sts 

3Q  67? 

Pearson  Street  Primary 

North.  .  .  . 

Cor.  Pearson  and  Market  streets  

16  7  co 

Elm  Street  Primary.... 

North  

Cor.  State  and  Elm  streets  

16  OsO 

LaSalle   Street  Primary 

North  

Clark  street,  near  North  avenue  

T.2  6i;o 

North  Branch  Primary.. 

North.  .  .  . 

Vedder  street,  near  Halsted  

32  ooo 

Total  value.  .  . 

2J.O  ?8o 

The  schools  were  closed  for  two  weeks  after  the  fire,  reopening 
October  twenty-third,  and  upon  the  reopening,  inasmuch  as  the  number  of 
teachers  employed  was  largely  in  excess  of  the  rooms  to  which  to  assign 
them,  they  were  divided  into  four  classes,  as  follows:  First — Those  who 
were  burned  out  and  were  homeless;  Second — Those  who  had  parents  or 
younger  members  of  the  family  dependent  upon  theni  for  support;  Third — 
Those  who  had  to  depend  upon  their  own  earnings  for  a  livelihood;  and 
Fourth — Those  who  had  friends  or  relatives  who  could  provide  for  them 
for  the  present.  In  assignment  to  duty,  they  were  set  to  work  as  nearly  as 
possible  in  the  order  named  above,  some  remaining  out  for  the  entire  year; 
a  large  proportion,  however,  were  provided  for  within  the  first  six  months. 

June  I4th,  1877,  J.  L.  Pickard,  who  had  filled  the  office  of  Superin- 
tendent of  Schools  since  September,  1864,  presented  his  resignation,  which 
was  accepted  June  twenty-ninth,  and  the  vacancy  was  filled  September 
i3th,  1877,  by  the  election  of  Duane  Doty;  and  at  the  same  meeting 
Edward  C.  Delano,  who  had  served  as  Principal  of  the  Normal  School 
since  shortly  after  its  establishment,  was  elected  Assistant  Superintendent 
of  Schools. 

In  June,  1879,  Jacob  Rosenberg  and  Henrietta  Rosenfeld,  trustees  of 
a  fund  left  by  the  late  Michael  Reese,  of  San  Francisco,  California,  to  be 
distributed  in  various  charities  such  as  they  may  deem  proper,  donated  to 
the  Board  of  Education  of  the  city  of  Chicago  the  sum  of  two  thousand 
dollars,  to  be  known  as  the  Michael  Reese  Fund,  the  interest  on  which 
is  to  be  used  in  the  purchase  of  school  books  for  poor  children  attending 
the  Public  Schools  of  this  city. 


uS 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 


The  following  tabulated   statement  exhibits  the  growth  of  the  Public 
School  system  from  1837  to  1879: 


FOR  YEAR 
ENDING 

I-  S; 

<u  O 

TD 
C  oo 

Total  Enrollment 
in  the  Public 
Schools. 

Average  Daily 
Membership. 

Number  of 
Teachers. 

'c 
o  t-  . 

•«'^  '' 

1  K.M 

J    £  "" 

•o  c  a 

^  C3  3  Q 

l837 

2  109 

2694 

7603 

12  O2  1 

17404 
31  235 

52861 

58  955 

82  996 
89  150 

136  333 
152  470 

'74  549 
184  499 

200473 

317 
410 

808 

915 
i  051 
i  107 
1  317 
1  517 
1  794 
i  919 

2  287 
2  404 

3  086 
3  SOD 
6  826 

8  577 
10  786 

12  803 
14  199 

16  547 
1  6  44,1 
17  521 
21  188 
29  080 
24  851 
27  260 
29  954 
34  74° 
38  939 
40  832 
38  035 
44  091 
47  963 
49  121 
51  128 

53  529 
S5  109 
56  587 

i  224 
i  409 

i  521 
i  795 

3688 
4464 

5  5l6 
6  649 

7582 

8962 
10  820 

12688 
14609 
16392 

18322 
22838 

25  755 
28  174 

24  539 
28832 

32777 
34983 
38081 

39  495 
41  569 
43  741 

5 
7 
7 
8 

9 
'3 

18 
18 
18 

21 
25 
29 

34 

35 
42 

Si 

IOI 

123 

139 
160 

187 

212 
240 
265 

319 
4OI 
481 

537 
572 
476 

564 
640 
700 
762 
73o 
797 
851 

$  i  889  82 
2  289  88 
2  379  38 

2  363  32 

2  277  53 

6  921  17 
9  107  64 
10  829  58 
'331679 
15  626  73 
23  365  oo 
36  079  oo 

4300989 

49  612  43 
6099446 
68  607  97 
75  326  1  8 
88  in  56 
J3i  034  91 
162  383  79 

227  524  97 
278  13306 

350  5  15  43 
4H  655  7° 
444  634  53 
378  670  55 
430  462  64 
592  893  17 

552  327  37 
588  721  41 
450  252  46 
490  462  64 
529  164  45 

$  2  676  75 
3  22599 

309997 
3  106  22 

3  4'3  45 

5  635  87 
4  248  76 

5  79°  82 

6  037  97 

7  398  97 
10  704  04 

12  12959 

I4  254  72 

16  546  13 
29  720  oo 
45  701  oo 
58  686  80 
69  630  53 
8  1  533  75 
86  755  32 
92  378  86 

"3  3°5  24 

17600373 
219  198  66 
296  672  89 
352  ooi  80 
446  786  50 
=527  741  60 
547  461  74 

479  444  44 
524  702  09 
588  643  1  1 
662  093  47 
710  628  19 
551  621  17 
579  508  68 
630711  17 

l84O 

1841.  . 

1842  

1847 

1844.  . 

184?  

1846  

1847.. 

1848  '. 

Io4Q  .  , 

i8u 

18152.  . 

1853  

Dec.  31,  1854  

Dec.  31,  1855  

Dec.  31,  1856  

Feb.  i,  1858  

Feb.  i.  18150.  . 

Feb.  i,  1860  

Feb.  i,  1861  

Dec.  31,  1861  

Dec.  31,  1862  

Dec.  31,  1863  

Aug.3i,  1865  

Aug.  31,  1866  

Aug.  3  1,  1867  

July  i,  1868  

July  i,  1869  

July  i,  1870  

July  i,  1871.  . 

July  i,  1872'  

July  i,  1873.  . 

uly  i.  1874.  . 

uly  i,  1875  

July  i,  1876.  . 

July  i,  1877.  . 

Julv  i,  1878  

July  i,  1879  

The  High   Schools  of  the  city  are  a  part  of  the   extensive   system  of 
Public  Schools,  and  are   a  brilliant   feature  of  its  completeness.     Among 
certain    classes  there   appears  to   be  a  disposition    to  criticise   this  part  of 
the  Public  School  system  upon  the  ground  that  the  branches  taught  in  the 
common  schools  are  sufficient  for  all  practical  purposes,  and  that  schools  for 
imparting  a  more   advanced   education   should   not  be   supported  by  the 
public  funds.     This  captiousness  comes   from  an  imperfect  understanding 
of  the  real  utility  of  education  to  the  welfare  of  the  community,  and  is  a 
lingering  shadow^f  the  determined   opposition  which   was   manifested  a 
few  years  ago  to  the  free  school  svstem.      It  is  not  many  years  since  the 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  119 

men  who  had  no  children  to  educate  bitterly  complained  of  being  compelled 
to  defray  the  expenses  of  educating  the  children  of  others,  denouncing  free 
education  as  an  injustice  and  imposition.  In  every  republic  there  should 
be  the  most  abundant  educational  facilities,  and  these  once  furnished,  the 
people  should  be  compelled  to  use  them.  Truer  words  were  never  written 
than  those  which  close  the  report  of  W.  H.  Brown,  J.  E.  McGirr,  and 
G.  W.  Southworth  upon  the  expediency  of  establishing  a  High  School, 
and  which  were  as  follows:  "Enlighten  the  masses  and  there  is  compara- 
tive safety,  for  with  universal  suffrage  there  must  be  universal  education." 
Such  provisions  are  not  burdensome  to  the  tax  payer.  It  requires  just 
about  so  much  money  to  preserve  order  and  insure  prosperity  in  a  com- 
munity, and  if  some  of  it  does  not  go  to  the  support  of  schools,  it  will  all 
go  to  the  support  of  a  constabulary.  Peace  and  orderly  citizenship  are  the 
conditions  precedent  to  prosperity,  and  these  must  be  the  result  of  education 
or  a  policeman's  club.  The  former  is  much  the  more  preferable.  The 
vast  majority  of  our  citizens,  therefore,  entertain  a  justifiable  pride  in  these 
upper  schools  of  our  system,  and  are  determined  to  maintain  their  existence 
and  efficiency. 

The  first  thought  of  establishing  a  school  for  advanced  scholars  seems 
to  have  occurred  in  1840.  In  1843  the  Board  of  School  Inspectors  referred 
to  the  matter,  saying:  "Had  we  the  means  for  the  establishment  of  a  High 
School,  with  two  good  teachers,  into  which  might  be  placed  a  hundred 
of  the  best  instructed  scholars  from  the  different  schools,  the  present  lack  of 
room  would  be  remedied."  In  May  of  the  following  year  Ira  Miltimore, 
Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Schools,  again  advocated  the  project.  In 
1846  the  Inspectors  in  their  quarterly  report  to  the  Common  Council,  ex- 
pressed the  belief  that  there  was  a  necessity  for  at  least  one  school  where 
the  ordinary  academic  studies  might  be  taught.  On  February  yth,  1847, 
however,  the  Committee  said:  "In  reference  to  a  High  School,  we  are  of 
the  opinion  that  there  are  insuperable  objections  to  the  establishment 
of  such  a  school,  independent  of  the  inability  of  the  city  at  the  present 
time  to  build  one."  From  this  time  until  November,  1852,  nothing  more 
was  heard  upon  the  subject.  At  this  date,  however,  the  Board  of  Inspec- 
tors appointed  a  committee  of  three  to  inquire  into  the  expediency  of 
recommending  to  the  Common  Council  a  plan  for  the  establishment  of  a 
High  School,  and  this  committee  urgently  recommended  its  establishment. 
The  report  of  this  committee  was  adopted  by  the  Board  of  Inspectors,  and 
afterward  presented  to  the  Council.  On  the  twenty-third  of  January, 
1855,  the  Common  Council  passed  an  ordinance  establishing  a  High 
School.  On  the  nineteenth  of  the  month  following,  the  Common  Council 
directed  the  Committee  on  Schools  to  prepare  plans  and  specifications  for 
a  building,  with  an  estimate  of  cost.  The  building  was  commenced  during 
the  year,  and  was  completed  by  the  Fall  of  1856.  The  school  was  organ- 
ized October  8th,  1856,  with  C.  A.  Dupee  as  Principal,  a  position  whirh 
he  held  until  1860,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  George  Howland.  This 
school  was  what  was  known  as  the  Central  High  School.  In  1875  Division 


I2O 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 


High  Schools  were  established,  one  in  each  Division  of  the  city,  with  a  two 
years'  course.  The  regular  course  being  four  years,  the  arrangement  under 
this  system,  was  to  take  two  years  in  the  Division  Schools  and  the  other 
two  in  the  Central  School.  The  Normal  Department  was  organized  as 
an  independent  school  in  1871,  and  so  continued  until  1876,  when  it  was 
again  made  a  department  of  the  High  School.' 

The  following  is  an  alphabetical   list  of  the  teachers  of  the  Central 
High  School  from  its  organization: 


PRINCIPALS: 


Charles  A.  Dupee, 
October,  1856,  to  July,  1860. 


George  Rowland, 
September,  1860,  to  July,  1880. 


Geo.  E.  Adams, 
Charles  Ansorge, 
Jemima  F.  Austin, 
Bradford  Y.  Averill, 
William  T.  Belfield, 
Grace  Bibb, 
Orlando  Blackman, 
Norton  W.  Boomer, 
Edward  M.  Booth, 
Emily  S.  Bouton, 
Geo.  D.  Broomell, 
Anna  Byrne, 
Albion  Cate, 
Geo.  C.  Clarke, 
Alexander  Coignard, 
Helen  D.  Compton, 
Emilie  H.  Cook, 
Sophia  L.  Cornienti, 
Helen  Culver, 
Albert  H.  Currier, 
Geo.  R.  D'Andilly, 
Carrie  A.  de  Clercq, 
Marc  Delafontaine, 
Edward  C.  Delano, 


ASSISTANTS: 

Gustav  Demars, 
James  R.  Dewey, 
Sarah  J.  Ellithorpe, 
Oscar  Faulhaber, 
N.Ella  Flagg, 
Carol  Gaytes, 
Susan  J.  Grace, 
Gussie  E.  Grant, 
Raphael  Guthman, 
Hermann  Hanstein, 
J.  O.  Hudnutt, 
Camilla  Leach, 
Mary  W.  Lewis, 
Marion  L.  W.  McClintock, 
J.  G.  R.  McElroy, 
Marion  G.  Meatyard, 
Samuel  F.  Miller, 
Pauline  Misch, 
Henry  F.  Munroe,       • 
Ira  Moore, 
Mary  Noble, 
Charles  G.  G.  Paine, 
Maria  A.  Parry, 
Selim  H.  Peabody, 


Lavinia  C.  Perkins, 
Joseph  C.  Pickard, 
Edward  C.  Porter, 
Leander  H.  Potter, 
Pauline  M.  Reed, 
Albert  R.  Sabin, 
Jeremiah  Slocum, 
Frances  A.  Smallwood, 
Herman  W.  Snow, 
Harriet  A.  Stowell, 
S.  Grace  Thompson, 
Samuel  Thurber, 
Annie  E.  Trimingham, 
Gertrude  Van  Patten, 
A-  Henry  Vanzwoll, 
Sarah  A.  E.  Walton, 
Mida  D.  Warne, 
Caroline  T.  Warner, 
Geo.  P.  Welles, 
Oliver  S.  Westcott, 
Samuel  Willard, 
Edward  M.  Williams, 
Caroline  S.  A.  Wygant. 


The  North  Division  High  School  was  organized  in  September,  1875, 
in  the  Sheldon  School  building.  Francis  Hanford,  at  that  time  Assistant 
Superintendent  of  Schools,  was  elected  Principal,  Anna  M.  Byrne, 
assistant,  and  Sophia  Cornienti,  teacher  of  German.  Mr.  Hanford  was 
Principal  of  this  school  until  August  in  the  following  year,  when  he  was 
shot  and  killed  in  his  door  yard  by  Alexander  Sullivan.  Sullivan  called 
upon  Hanford  for  an  explanation  of  some  matter  in  which  both  parties 
were  alleged  to  be  interested,  when  a  serious  dispute  arose  between  them, 
the  ending  of  which  was  the  killing  of  Hanford.  Sullivan  was  brought 
to  trial  upon  an  indictment  for  murder,  and  was  acquitted. 

The  following  named   teachers  have  been  connected  with  the  school; 


PRINCIPALS: 


Francis  Hanford, 
September,  1875,  to  August,  1876. 


Henry  H.  Belfield, 
September,  1876,  to  date. 


Anna  M.  Byrne, 
Sophia  Cornienti, 
Lizzie  N.  Cutter, 
Eva  C.  Durbin, 


ASSISTANTS: 

James  W.  Larimore, 
Caroline  H.  Merrick, 
Thomas  O'Mahony, 
Mathilde  Smith, 


Lora  A.  Stimpson, 
Emma  A.  Stowell, 
Ann  E.  Winchell. 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  121 

The  South  Division  High  School  was  organized  in  September,  1875, 
under  the  principalship  of  Jeremiah  Slocum.  The  following  teachers 
have  been  connected  with  the  school : 

PRINCIPAL: 
Jeremiah  Slocum. 

ASSISTANTS: 

Wm.  T.  Belfield,  Emilie  H.  Cook,  Maria  J.  Whipple, 

James  Sullivan,  Eliza  R.  Sunderland,  Eva  C.  Durbin, 

Henry  F.  Munroe,  Harriet  A.  Stowell,  Sophia  L.  Cornienti. 

Wm.  M.  Payne,  Alfred  Kirk, 

The  West  Division  High  School  was  opened  for  the  reception  of 
pupils  September,  1875,  in  charge  of  Ira  S.  Baker.  The  school  is  now 
located  at  the  corner  of  Monroe  and  Morgan  streets. 

The  following  are  the  names  of  the  present  and  former  teachers  of 
the  school: 

PRINCIPALS: 

Ira  S.  Baker,  George  P.  Welles, 

September,  1875,  to  July,  1880.  Elected    July,    1880. 

ASSISTANTS: 

Joseph  Y.  Bergen,  Jr.  Susan  J.Grace,  John  K.  Merrill, 

William  T.  Belfield,  Fanny  Hannan,  Henry  F.  Munroe, 

Carrie  A.  de  Clercq,  Mathilde  Hessler,  James  Sullivan, 

J.  Hamilton  Farrar,  David  F.  Hicks,  Caroline  T.  Warner, 

Franklin  P.  Fisk,  Gertrude  V.  Lord,  Oliver  S.  Westcott. 

Emma  A.  Gosau,  Ira  S.  Baker, 

The  Central  High  School  was  abolished  in  July,  1880,  and  the  Board 
at  the  same  time  ordered  that  henceforth  there  should  be  the  full  course  of 
four  years  taught  in  each  Division  School.  George  Howland  was  at  this 
date  elected  Superintendent  of  Schools. 


122 


GEORGE   ROWLAND. 

It  is  not  the  most  demonstrative  life  that  leaves  the  deepest  impress 
upon  society.  The  hand  that  holds  the  conqueror's  sword,  while  it, may 
be  kissed  by  the  worshiping  multitude,  is  not  the  hand  that  carves  out  a 
prosperous  nation's  existence.  The  foundation  and  perpetuity  of  govern- 
ment, especially  of  republican  government,  is  laid  where  there  is, no  clash 
of  arms  or  smoke  of  battle.  The  statesman  may  charm  the  world  with  the 
intricacies  and  brilliancy  of  his  diplomacy,  or  he  may  thrill  it  with  burn- 
ing eloquence;  wreathed  in  laurels  the  military  chieftain  may  come  from 
his  battle  fields  amidst  the  torrent  of  a  people's  plaudits;  the  merchant, 
and  the  manufacturer,  and  the  delver  in  the  mines  have  the  right  to  claim 
conspicuous  position  among  those  who  are  developing  and  maturing  the 
beauties  and  wealth  of  a  nation.  But  behind  them  all  is  an  unostentatious 
power  which  is  greater  than  they — the  source  of  their  own  efficiency  and  of 
their  vital  support.  Without  it  Bismarck  and  his  magnificent  nation 
would  be  but  shadows  of  their  present  greatness;  England,  now  grand  in 
intellect  and  commanding  in  civilization,  would  still  be  the  lingering  night 
of  barbarism;  the  American  I'epublic,  representative  of  the  highest  type 
of  progress,  and  potent  in  influence  wherever  civilization  has  made  its 
name  familiar,  would  not  only  not  exist,  but  this  fair  and  fertile  territory, 
the  plains  and  the  prairies,  the  lakes  and  the  rivers,  the  mountains  and  the 
vales  which  make  as  lovely  a  picture  as  nature  ever  painted,  would  be 
the  home  of  savage  life  and  of  unappreciative  savage  intellect,  bending 
their  energies  to  the  hunt,  relentless  and  useless  warfare,  and  the  senseless 
worship  of  imaginary  gods. 

That  magic  power  which  has  absorbed  the  night  in  the  glories  of  the 
morning;  that  has  drawn  a  line  of  separation  between  man  and  the  brute; 
that  has  created  government  and  sustains  it,  and  that  has  built,  adorned 
and  prospered  our  beautiful  Chicago,  is  the  school  house.  Within  its 
walls  can  be  found  the  architect  of  the  world's  prosperity  and  fame, 
patiently  molding  the  character  and  intellect  of  the  future  statesmen, 
orators,  warriors,  poets  and  philosophers  of  the  nation.  With  the  excep- 
tion of  the  world's  mothers,  no  class  of  human  beings  stamp  themselves 
so  indelibly  and  favorably  upon  government,  society  and  commerce  as  do 
those  who  are  educating  our  youth.  Long  after  their  most  sacred  mission 
is  ended,  and  they  have  been  gathered  with  the  fathers,  they  live  on  in 
hundreds  and  thousands  of  active  lives,  and  their  influence  is  being  felt 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS,  123 

in  every  circle  in  which  glows  the  intelligence  of  human  intellect.  Indeed 
their  influence  will  never  cease  to  be  felt.  Nations  may  rise  and  nations 
may  crumble;  generation  after  generation  may  march  in  solemn  procession 
through  the  world  into  eternity;  ages  may  come  and  ages  may  go; 
Pompeiis  may  be  buried  and  Chicagos  may  be  forgotten,  but  amidst  all 
the  rust  and  disfigurement  and  desolation  which  time  may  bequeath  in  its 
flight,  the  footprints  of  the  instructor  of  our  youth  will  ever  be  discerned 
in  the  sands,  and  the  picture  of  our  school  houses  upon  human  character 
will  always  retain  its  freshness  and  prominence. 

George  Rowland,  the  present  Superintendent  of  Schools,  has  long 
been  identified  with  the  educational  interests  of  Chicago,  and  as  teacher 
and  principal  of  the  High  School,  has  sent  thousands  of  our  young  men 
and  women  out  into  the  world,  fully  prepared  to  assume  and  discharge 
the  duties  and  responsibilities  of  successful  life.  In  the  learned  professions, 
in  our  counting-rooms  and  offices,  in  official  position,  and  in  every  avoca- 
tion requiring  character  and  developed  mind,  his  pupils  are  found  honoring 
themselves  and  conspicuously  bearing  evidence  of  his  efficiency  as  an 
instructor  and  his  usefulness  as  a  citizen.  Grand,  indeed,  has  been  the  part 
which  he  has  enacted  in  developing  the  mind,  the  real  foundation  of 
Chicago;  and  the  proudest  marble  monument  that  will  ever  stand  to 
commemorate  the  life  of  our  noblest  statesman  or  most  valiant  soldier,  will 
be  less  durable  than  that  on  which  the  name  of  this  modest  man  has  been 
stamped  by  his  quiet  fidelity  to  duty. 

Mr.  Rowland  is  a  native  of  Conway,  Franklin  county,  Massachusetts, 
and  is  the  son  of  William  Avery  Howland  and  Hannah  Morton.  His 
parents  were  New  England  people,  and  possessed  of  those  sturdy  virtues 
which  are  characteristic  of  the  natives  of  that  section  of  our  country. 
Young  Howland  spent  his  boyhood  upon  his  father's  farm,  dividing  his 
time  between  assisting  his  father  and  attending  the  district  school.  In 
course  of  time  he  entered  Wollaston  Seminary,  East  Hampton,  under  the 
principalship  of  Luther  Wright,  and  afterward  Amherst  College,  from 
which  he  graduated  in  1850.  During  his  collegiate  course  he  taught 
school  whenever  opportunity  was  afforded  by  vacation,  and  thus  largely 
supported  himself  while  in  college. 

Two  years  after  receiving  his  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts,  he  returned 
to  Amherst,  and  was  connected  with  the  college  for  five  years,  first  as 
tutor  and  then  as  instructor  in  Latin  and  French.  In  December,  1857,  ^e 
arrived  in  Chicago,  and  in  the  following  January  was  elected  a  teacher  in 
the  High  School,  which  position  he  filled  until  July,  1860,  when  he  was 
elected  Principal.  In  the  discharge  of  the  responsible  duties  of  the 
principalship  of  this  highest  Chicago  school,  he  showed  such  distinguished 
fitness  for  the  direction  of  our  educational  interests,  that  in  July,  1880,  the 
Board  of  Education  elected  him  to  the  superintendency  of  schools,  which 
position  he  now  fills  to  the  complete  satisfaction  of  the  Board  and  of  the 
public.  The  only  other  public  office  which  Mr.  Howland  occupies  is  3 
trusteeship  of  Amherst  College.  Some  years  ago  an  arrangement  was 


124  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS, 

made  by  which  the  Alumni  of  the  College  were  to  elect  a  portion  of  the 
trustees,  and  in  accordance  with  this,  Mr.  Rowland  was  elected  a  trustee 
in  1879. 

Few  lives  among  us  have  been  more  consecrated  to  duty  and  so  fertile 
of  good  results  as  the  one  we  have  been  sketching.  Modest  in  its  exhibi- 
tions, actuated  by  a  profound  regard  for  principle,  and  symmetrical  in  its- 
development,  the  universal  esteem  entertained  for  Mr.  Rowland  is  a 
legitimate  result  of  natural  causes. 


I25 


JAMES  WARD. 


• 


The  world  always  holds  in  reserve  the  necessary  intellect  and  energy  to 
meet  extraordinary  emergencies.  In  perilous  times  there  is  always  a  hand 
to  clasp  the  wheel  of  the  drifting  ship.  If  government  succumbs  to  an- 
archy, some  mind  appears  to  illumine  the  pathway  to  the  establishment  of 
order;  if  great  battles  are  to  be  fought,  the  general  who  can  inspire  cour- 
age and  lead  to  victory  is  not  long  undiscovered;  if  evils  cry  for  reform, 
the  agitator  and  reformer  soon  rise  to  the  surface,  and  when  civilization 
demands  a  representative  upon  the  frontier,  and  a  hand  to  carry  her  torch 
into  the  darkness,  she  has  not  long  to  wait  for  a  response.  Hidden  in  the 
great  surging  mass  of  humanity  is  always  the  material  for  the  protection 
of  the  world's  best  interests,  and  to  insure  the  world's  steady  advancement. 
Washingtons  are  at  hand  when  a  nation  is  to  be  created;  Lincolns  are 
available  when  a  nation  is  to  be  saved ;  Grants  are  waiting  for  the  sum- 
mons to  i-escue  imperiled  principles  and  institutions  upon  the  battle  field; 
and  Kinzies,  and  Ogdens,  and  Carpenters,  and  Wards  are  listening  amidst 
the  quiet  and  charms  of  civilization  for  the  appeal  of  the  frontier  for  energy, 
intellect,  integrity  and  enterprise  to  build  cities  upon  the  prairies  and  the 
marshes.  The  heroism  which  answers  such  an  appeal,  when  it  is  heard, 
is  not  inferior  to  that  which  is  shown  amidst  the  smoke  of  a  nation's  bat- 
tles, and  is  possible  because  nature  contains  the  forces  which  she  requires 
for  her  own  development  and  adornment.  The  men  who  came  upon  this 
site  thirty,  forty  and  fifty  years  ago,  and  who  have  contributed  to  the  crea- 
tion of  this  elegant  city,  are  entitled  to  as  much  credit  for  courage,  and  to 
as  beautiful  a  wreath  of  fame  from  the  nation  as  any  of  her  warriors  who 
have  fought  her  battles;  and  of  these  frontier  heroes  and  builders  of  cities 
the  subject  of  our  sketch  is  a  prominent  representative. 

James  Ward  was  born  near  Antrim,  in  the  North  of  Ireland,  August 
ist,  1814,  and  was  the  son  of  Moses  Ward  and  Sarah  A.  McQueston. 
When  twenty  years  of  age  he  left  home,  and  came  to  America,  settling  at 
Auburn,  New  York,  where  he  managed  a  farm  and  stone  quarry  until 
1841,  when  he  decided  to  emigrate  to  the  West.  Starting  from  Auburn 
in  this  year,  he  intended  to  go  to  Dubuque,  Iowa,  and  settle  upon  a  farm; 
but  upon  arriving  in  Chicago,  the  sound  judgment  for  which  he  is  now 
noted,  readily  detected  the  elements  of  greatness  which  the  infant  city 
possessed,  and  he  decided  to  remain.  Purchasing  a  house  which  stood 
upon  leased  ground — now  occupied  by  Heath  and  Milligan's  store,  and 


126  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

which  then  rented  for  twenty  dollars  a  year — he  installed  his  family  in 
their  new  home,  which  he  began  to  embellish.  The  lot  was  like  the  pub- 
lic square — which  had  its  old  log  jail  in  the  northwest  corner  and  the 
unimposing  wooden  Court  House  in  the  center — without  fence  or  adorn- 
ment. Indeed  there  was  but  little  encouragement  to  adorn,  for  the  sur- 
roundings were  of  the  rudest  description.  The  street  in  front  of  the  house 
was  at  times  in  an  impassable  condition,  and  it  was  not  uncommon  for  Mr. 
Ward  to  lend  a  helping  hand  to  a  farmer  whose  team  had  been  mired, 
necessitating  an  unloading 'of  the  grain  from  the  wagon.  But  he  saw 
something  of  the  future  whose  brilliancy  he  has  lived  to  enjoy,  and  was 
not  discouraged.  To  surround  his  wife,  also,  with  all  the  comfort  and 
beauty  which,  under  the  circumstances,  were  possible,  was  an  object  worthy 
the  endeavors  of  a  manly  man.  Accordingly  he  fenced  the  lot,  and  planted 
as  beautiful  a  flower  garden  as  his  land  would  admit  of;  and  in  so  doing 
indicated  the  gentleness  of  heart  and  nobility  of  soul  which  he  possesses 
in  an  exalted  degree.  The  blooming  flowers  and  taste  displayed,  attracted 
the  attention  of  the  lovers  of  the  beautiful,  and  among  them  was  Philo 
Carpenter,  who,  stopping  to  inhale  the  perfume  of  the  garden,  made  the 
acquaintance  of  Mr.  Ward,  and  in  the  course  of  conversation,  ascertained 
that  this  home,  charming  as  it  then  seemed  to  be,  was  not  what  our  subject 
desired.  He-expressed  a  wish  -for  a  lot  large  enough  for  a  good  house, 
barn,  well,  cistern  and  garden.  Mr.  Carpenter  suggesting  that  he  could 
furnish  such  a  lot  "a  little  ways  out  of  town,"  it  was  arranged  to  ride  out 
and  view  it  at  once.  They  rode  through  Randolph  street.  Between  Canal 
and  Halsted  streets  there  were  no  houses  or  fences,  and  the  only  sign  of 
business  or  life  between  the  river  and  Halsted  street  was  a  lumber  yard 
on  the  northwest  corner  of  Randolph  and  Canal  streets.  At  Halsted  street 
there  was  a  small  house  occupied  by  Mr.  Wright,  who  was  -a  gardener 
and  supplied  a  portion  of  the  inhabitants  in  town  with  vegetables.  Pro- 
ceeding as  far  as  Sangamon  street,  they  came  to  a  block  on  the  south- 
east corner  of  that  street  and  Randolph,  which  was  planted  with  corn, 
and  in  this  block — thirty-nine,  in  Carpenter's  Addition  to  Chicago — was 
the  lot  which  Mr.  Carpenter  proposed  to  sell  to  Mr.  Ward.  One-third 
of  this  block  was  then  purchased  by  Mr.  Ward,  and  is  still  owned  by 
him. 

When  Mr.  Ward  first  arrived  in  Chicago  he  entered  upon  the  business 
of  buying  and  selling  grain,  and  was  among  the  first  of  our  pork  packers. 
Selling  this  business,  in  the  Spring  of  1842 — about  the  time  of  his  pur- 
chase of  the  Carpenter  property — he  began  to  direct  his  attention  to  dealing 
in  real  estate,  and  in  company  with  a  brother,  Hugh  Ward,  to  the  business 
of  building.  He  first  built  him  a  residence  upon  the  property  which  he 
purchased  of  Mr.  Carpenter,  and  this  was  the  fourth  house  erected  upon 
Carpenter's  Addition.  This  building  is  still  standing,  and  is  in  such 
excellent  condition  that  it  rents  for  about  forty-five  dollars  per  month.  As 
evidence  of  the  clear  judgment  of  the  man,  the  fact  should  be  noticed, 
that  when  he  purchased  this  valuable  property,  "so  far  out  of  town,"  he 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  127 

was  ridiculed  by  those  who  thought  themselves  possessed  of  greater  wis- 
dom. Time  has  shown  who  was  the  wisest. 

Mr.  Ward  and  his  brother,  in  the  capacity  of  master  builders,  began 
active  business  immediately  after  the  erection  of  the  former's  house,  and 
some  of  the  most  substantial  buildings  between  Halsted  street  and  the 
river  were  erected  by  them.  At  the  expiration  of  eight  years  in  business 
with  our  subject,  Hugh  died,  and  the  business  of  building  was  discontinued 
by  the  survivor.  Hugh  left  a  son — who  bears  his  father's  name — five 
years  old,  of  whom  our  subject  became  the  guardian.  The  property  to 
which  the  heir  of  the  deceased  brother  was  entitled  at  the  death  of  his 
father,  was  appraised  at  thirty  thousand  dollars.  When  the  son  arrived 
at  his  majority — sixteen  years  after — the  estate  was  worth  over  a  hundred 
thousand  dollars — an  evidence  both  of  judicious  management  and  of  the 
progress  of  Chicago. 

Mr.  Ward  has,  however,  been  prominently  identified  with  the  growth 
of  Chicago  in  even  a  more  important  capacity  than  that  of  an  enterpris- 
ing private  citizen.  For  years  he  has  been  identified  with  the  public 
schools.  In  1845  ^e  was  appointed  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Education, 
but  the  necessities  of  his  private  business  impelled  him  to  decline  the 
honor.  In  1857,  however,  he  consented  to  serve  in  that  capacity,  and  was  a 
member  of  the  board  from  that  date  until  1863,  when  he  retired,  and  was 
appointed  as  the  Building  and  Supply  Agent,  which  position  he  still  holds. 
As  a  mark  of  esteem  for  his  devotion  to  the  interests  of  Chicago,  and 
especially  to  her  educational  system,  one  of  the  schools  bears  his  name. 

Mr.  Ward  has  been  three  times  married.  His  first  wife  was  Mary 
E.  Hickson,  of  Auburn,  New  York.  She  died  in  Chicago  in  1855.  He 
next  married  Orchestra  Pyre,  of  Syracuse,  New  York,  who  lived  only 
about  two  years  after  the  marriage.  His  present  wife  is  Mary  E.  Smith, 
whom  he  mafried  at  Chicago.  He  has  nine  children — Sarah  Agnes  and 
Marietta,  daughters  of  his  first  wife;  Frank  Carpenter,  Albert  James, 
Anna  Rebecca,  Charles  Stewart,  Walter  Moses,  Ella  C.  and  James  Am- 
berg,  whose  mother  is  the  present  Mrs.  Ward. 

Little  can  be  added  to  this  record  of  a  life  which  has  developed  so 
grandly,  and  which  is  so  intimately  connected  with  the  growth  of  Chicago, 
especially  with  her  advancement  in  education.  There  is  not  a  school 
house  in  Chicago,  of  whose  construction  Mr.  Ward  has  not  had  the  over- 
sight, and  the  beauty  and  convenience  of  these  temples  of  education  is  all 
the  monument  that  a  man  could  wish  or  deserves  to  commemorate  his 
name;  and,  yet,  as  a  friend  who  has  enjoyed  his  companionship  and  hos- 
pitalities, listened  to  his  description  of  early  Chicago,  and  his  enthusiasm 
for  her  future,  heard  his  kindly  voice,  and  observed  his  sympathetic  nature 
and  charitable  disposition,  we  cannot  resist  the  temptation  of  losing  sight 
of  what  he  has  accomplished,  and  looking  at  the  man  himself.  History 
will  exalt  his  deeds — perhaps  we,  who  know  him,  may  be  pardoned  for 
exalting  him  above  his  deeds. 


128 


H.  CLARENCE  EDDY. 


H.  Clarence  Eddy  was  born  in  Greenfield,  Massachusetts,  June  23d, 
1851,  and  is  the  son  of  George  S.  Eddy  and  Silence  Cheney.  The 
father  of  our  subject  has  been  a  prominent  citizen  and  merchant  of  this 
beautiful  old  Massachusetts  town  for  many  years,  and  the  mother  belongs 
to  a  family  which  is  specially  noted  for  its  natural  musical  endowments. 
While  yet  a  mere  child  the  son  gave  evidence  of  having  inherited  the 
talent  of  his  mother's  family,  by  his  extraordinary  fondness  for  music, 
and  his  improvement  of  every  opportunity  to  gratify  the  ruling  passion 
of  his  life  and  to  become  proficient  in  musical  art.  Indeed,  so  unusual 
was  his  musical  gift,  and  so  constant  was  his  application  to  the  compre- 
hension of  the  details  of  musical  science,  that  at  the  early  age  of  fourteen 
years  he  commanded  a  salaried  position  as  church  organist,  and  began 
teaching  when  scarcely  sixteen. 

Until  he  was  eleven  years  of  age  he  had  been  led  only  by  his  own 
artistic  nature;  but  now  it  became  necessary  to  provide  him  a  competent 
teacher,  and  he  began  the  study  of  the  piano  under  the  instruction  of 
Laura  J.  Billings.  Two  years  later  he  took  his  first  lessons  on  the  organ, 
J.  Gilbert  Wilson — at  the  time  organist  of  the  St.  James  Episcopal  Church 
at  Greenfield — being  his  teacher.  When  sixteen  years  of  age  he  went 
to  Hartford,  Connecticut,  where  for  one  year  he  studied  the  organ  and 
harmony  under  Dudley  Buck.  While  here  he  accepted  an  engagement 
as  organist  in  Bethany  Church — Reverend  Dr.  Lord,  pastor — at  Mont- 
pelier,  Vermont,  where  he  remained  two  years  and  a  half,  teaching  music 
continually,  and  during  the  last  year  and  a  half  teaching  the  pianoforte 
in  Goddard  Seminary,  Barre,  Vermont,  five  miles  distant  from  Mont- 
pelier.  A  very  great  portion  of  the  time  that  he  remained  at  the  capital 
of  the  Green  Mountain  State,  he  gave  more  than  sixty  lessons  a  week. 

After  considering  carefully  the  advantages  offered  by  the  German 
cities,  he  finally  decided  to  go  to  Berlin,  where,  aside  from  instruction 
at  the  hands  of  the  celebrated  masters  he  could  enjoy  almost  unlimited 
opportunities,  afforded  by  the  German  capital,  for  hearing  the  greatest 
musical  works. 

The  tasks  which  he  accomplished  during  this  time  were  simply 
enormous.  Thoroughly  devoted  to  his  chosen  profession,  he  studied  with 
unremitting  diligence,  working  sometimes  as  many  as  fifteen  hours  a  day 
at  piano  and  organ  together,  A.  Loeschhorn,  whose  studies  are  celebrated 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 


129 


all  over  the  world,  being  his  teacher  of  the  former,  and  the  celebrated  August 
Haupt,  with  whom  he  also  studied  harmony,  counterpoint,  fugue  and 
musical  composition,  being  his  teacher  of  the  latter. 

During  the  first  six  months  of  the  two  and  a  half  years  he  spent  in 
Berlin,  he  played  every  day  the  Six  Organ  Sonatas  of  Bach,  before 
taking  up  his  appointed  tasks.  This  exercised  no  small  influence  upon 
him,  in  permeating  his  whole  being  with  the  subtle  spirit  of  polyphonic 
structure,  as  displayed  so  marvelously  in  the  sublime  creations  of  Bach. 
His  continuous  application  could  not  fail  to  produce  its  legitimate  results — 
an  enormous  technique — and  by  means  of  constant  piano  practice,  and  the 
study  of  the  greatest  piano  works,  under  Professor  Loeschhorn,  he 
became  a  fine  pianist,  and  guarded  against  the  stiffening  of  the  fingers, 
so  often  met  with  among  those  who  devote  themselves  exclusively  to  the 
organ.  By  adopting  this  course,  he  succeeded  in  obtaining  both  a  fine 
piano  and  organ  technique. 

Professor  Haupt— who,  when  young,  could  play  every  important 
organ  work  of  Bach  from  memory— devoted  all  the  energies  of  his  mind 
to  the  task  of  instructing  the  pupil  of  whom  he  was  so  proud,  and  whom 
he  loved  as  his  own  son,  and  when,  just  before  Mr.  Eddy's  departure,  the 
master  received  the  commands  of  the  Emperor  of  Germany,  whose 
organist  he  was,  to  take  part  in  a  concert  given  in  the  "Garnison  Church," 
under  the  Imperial  patronage,  he  excused  himself  by  saying:  "I  will 
send  a  pupil  of  mine  who  will  do  even  better  than  I  can."  High  praise, 
indeed,  but  it  showed  the  old  master's  estimate  of  his  pupil.  So,  in  due 
time,  Mi*.  Eddy  played  at  this  concert,  performing  before  the  Emperor, 
Empress,  Crown  Prince  and  Princess,  and  many  of  the  German  nobility, 
Bach's  great  Five-Part  Fantasie  in  C  minor,  and  Merkel's  celebrated 
Sonata  in  G  minor,  winning  recognition  from  both  the  musicians  and 
people  of  Berlin,  and  receiving  the  most  flattering  recommendations  from 
the  press  of  that  city. 

Soon  after,  he  undertook  a  tour  through  the  German  Empire,  Austria 
and  Switzerland,  playing  all  the  principal  organs,  among  them  the  famous 
old  instrument  at  Freiborg,  and  receiving  the  most  flattering  attentions 
from  the  celebrated  men  with  whom  he  came  in  contact,  such  as  Franz 
Liszt,  Gustav  Merkel,  A.  G.  Ritter,  E.  F.  Richter  and  others. 

Returning  to  Berlin  in  triumph,  he  bade  his  masters,  Haupt  and 
Loeschhorn,  an  affectionate  farewell,  and  set  out  on  his  journey  home, 
passing  through  Holland,  Belgium,  France  and  England,  and  playing 
the  splendid  organs  in  St.  Paul's  Cathedral  and  the  Royal  Albert  Hall, 
in  London,  the  latter  being  the  largest  instrument  in  the  world. 

On  his  return  to  America,  he  received  a  call  to  become  organist  of 
the  First  Congregational  Church,  in  Chicago — Reverend  Dr.  Goodwin's — 
at  a  salary  of  two  thousand  dollars.  Here,  in  the  Winter  of  1875-6,  he 
gave  his  first  series  of  organ  recitals,  numbering  twenty-five,  at  which 
were  presented  the  greatest  works  ever  written  for  the  organ. 

In    1877   he  became   General   Director  of  the  Hershey   School   of 


130 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 


Musical  Art,  in  Chicago,  founded  by  Mrs.  Sara  B.  Hershey,  and  which 
has  already  made  good  its  position  as  one  of  the  foremost  Musical  Col- 
leges of  the  country.  To  this  school  he  has  given  his  best  energies,  and 
has  met  with  the  greatest  success  in  training  up  young  musicians  who 
seem  to  become  imbued  with  the  same  enthusiastic  love  for  the  art,  and 
willingness  to  labor  for  it,  which  is  so  characteristic  of  himself. 

At  the  opening  of  the  beautiful  Hershey  Music  Hall,  in  connection 
with  the  school,  he  projected  a  series  of  one  hundred  organ  recitals — one 
to  be  given  every  week,  and  without  the  repetition  of  a  single  number — 
upon  the  splendid  new  three-manual  concert-organ,  built  by  Johnson  & 
Son.  The  programme  of  these  recitals,  when  completed,  included  all 
the  important  organ  works  of  every  age  and  author.  This  design,  so  vast 
in  its  conception,  was  carried  out  in  strict  conformity  to  the  original  inten- 
tion, the  last  recital  of  the  series  being  given  on  June  23d,  1879. 

For  such  an  undertaking  is  required,  not  only  a  magnificent  technique, 
capable  of  executing  everything,  but  also  enormous  powers  of  reading 
and  memory,  to  enable  him  to  thoroughly  prepare  a  completely  new 
programme  every  week.  To  cope  with  all  the  difficulties  presented  by 
this  stupendous  problem,  and  at  the  same  time  instruct  so  many  pupils, 
necessitated  a  most  exceptional  ability  in  every  direction.  Such  a  thing 
has  never  been  accomplished  by  any  organist,  nor  has  it  been,  probably, 
ever  undertaken. 

There  have  been  over  three  hundred  concerts  given  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Hershey  School  of  Musical  Art  since  its  establishment  in 
January,  1877;  and  it  can  in  truth  be  said  thai  there  are  more  real  advan- 
tages offered  in  this  than  in  any  other  similar  institution  in  America;  and 
no  other  music  school  in  the  world  can  boast  of  so  large  and  magnificent 
an  organ  as  the  one  contained  in  Hershey  Music  Hall,  which  is  the  prop- 
erty of  the  school. 

In  Mr.  Eddy  we  have  an  organist  whose  abilities  are  equaled  by 
few,  and  probably  excelled  by  none.  For  him  difficulties  seem  to  exist 
no  longer;  his  pedal-playing  is  as  smooth  and  even  as  if  the  passages 
were  executed  by  the  fingers  upon  the  manual,  but  everything  is  done 
with  such  astonishing  ease  that  a  feeling  of  restfulness  settles  down  upon 
the  hearer,  enabling  him  to  thoroughly  enjoy  every  note,  without  one 
thought  of  the  mechanical  difficulties  presented  by  the  work.  Yet  this 
marvelous  technique  is  never  devoted  to  mere  purposes  of  display,  but 
only  used  as  a  means  to  an  end — the  proper  interpretation  of  the  music — 
and  he  seems  to  be  fully  deserving  of  the  title  so  often  bestowed  upon 
him — "greatest  of  America's  organists." 

Aside  from  his  teaching  and  playing,  he  can,  of  course,  find  com- 
paratively little  time  to  devote  to  writing.  Yet  his  technique  of  composition 
is  very  great;  he  writes  with  the  utmost  ease;  his  compositions  are 
remarkable  for  their  clearness  and  elegance,  and  the  great  scholarship 
displayed  in  working  out  the  minutest  details.  Among  his  compositions, 
are  Canons,  Choral  Variations,  Preludes  and  Fugues  for  the  organ,  as 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  131 

well  as  a  number  of  church  works,  which  have  been  received  by  critics 
and  the  public  with  many  commendations,  and  are  very  chaste  and  classical 
in  their  style  and  conception. 

In  odd  hours,  too,  he  has  found  time  to  translate  and  edit  Haupt's 
"Theory  of  Counterpoint  and  Fugue,"  which  is  already  extensively  used 
in  this  country. 

Louis  Thiele,  the  celebrated  organist,  left  behind  him,  at  his  death, 
a  newly-finished  manuscript — "Theme  and  Variations  in  C."  It  is  prob- 
ably, in  many  respects,  the  most  difficult  organ  composition  in  existence. 
Haupt  had  placed  it  in  his  own  repertoire,  and  called  it  the  "touch-stone" 
of  his  technique.  He  used  it  as  a  test  of  his  own  ability,  for  if  he  could 
play  it,  he  knew  that  he  had  lost  nothing  of  his  own  wonderful  skill. 
This  enormously  difficult  work  Mr.  Eddy  mastered  while  in  Germany, 
after  a  month's  careful  study,  and  had  the  great  pleasure  of  playing  it  to 
his  venerable  teacher,  who,  though  he  had  often  played  it  to  others,  had 
never  heard  it  except  when  so  doing,  having  never,  hitherto,  found  any 
one  who  could  play  it  to  him. 

At  the  present  time  Mr.  Eddy  is  organist  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church,  Musical  Director  of  the  Philharmonic  Vocal  Society  of  Chi- 
cago, organist  of  Hershey  Music  Hall,  and  General  Director  of  Hershey 
School  of  Musical  Art. 

At  Chicago,  July  ist,  1879,  Mr.  Eddy  was  married  to  Mrs.  Sara 
Hershey,  the  founder  of  the  school  which  bears  ner  name,  and  a  lady  of 
great  musical  attainments  and  superior  worth. 

Such  success  as  that  of  which  the  life  we  have  been  sketching  is  the 
embodiment,  is  very  unusual  even  with  the  most  gifted,  and  its  explana- 
tion will  be  found  in  the  severe  training  of  rare  natural  abilities  and 
industrious  devotion  to  a  chosen  profession.  Only  thirty  years  of  age, 
H.  Clarence  Eddy  is  regarded  the  foremost  organist  of  America,  and 
with  his  habits  of  industry,  his  physical  and  mental  endurance,  his  high 
musical  attainments,  and  his  great  musical  talent,  it  is  impossible  to  con- 
jecture the  limit  of  achievement  and  fame  which  await  him  in  the 
future,  should  his  health  and  life  be  spared. 


HENRY  L.  SLAYTON. 

Henry  L.  Slayton,  the  originator,  proprietor  and  manager  of  the  only 
prominent  Western  Lyceum  Bureau,  is  possessed  of  that  keen  business 
ability,  sound  judgment  and  spirit  of  enterprise,  to  which  Chicago  is  so 
accustomed  and  so  much  indebted.  In  his  chosen  field  of  labor  he  was 
the  pioneer,  and  from  a  small  beginning  and  against  obstacles  of  a  dis- 
couraging character,  his  tact,  energy  and  perseverance  have  evolved  a 
business  which  is  co-extensive  with  the  limits  of  the  country,  and  have 
made  his  name  familiar  among  the  intelligent  portion  of  the  whole  nation. 
Gifted  by  nature  with  the  sturdy  qualities  of  mind  and  heart  which  appear 
to  be  prominently  characteristic  of  those  who  come  from  New  England, 
his  success  has  been  the  legitimate  result  of  a  well  balanced  organization, 
integrity  of  character  and  singleness  of  purpose.  Having  enjoyed  both  a 
military  and  legal  education  and  practice,  his  training  was  of  that  method- 
ical character,  which  has  been  of  signal  benefit  to  him  in  conducting  an 
enterprise  which  is  the  very  embodiment  of  systematic  arrangement  and 
management.  Thus  peculiarly  fitted  for  an  undertaking  of  a  complicated 
and  delicate  nature,  the  success  of  the  Slayton  Lyceum  Bureau  has  been 
unmistakable,  and  the  more  brilliant  because  of  the  many  failures  of  simi- 
lar enterprises  in  the  West,  during  the  years  that  it  has  been  steadily 
extending  its  influence. 

Henry  L.  Slayton  was  born  at  Woodstock,  in  the  State  of  Vermont, 
May  29th,  1841,  and  is  the  eldest  of  four  children,  three  of  whom  are  still 
living.  His  father,  Stephen  D.  Slayton,  who  is  still  living  at  Lebanon, 
New  Hampshire,  whither  he  removed  with  his  family  when  Henry  was 
four  years  old,  is  a  man  of  rare  intelligence,  and  for  twenty  years  was  the 
leading  manufacturer  of  edge  tools  in  New  England.  His  mother,  whose 
maiden  name  was  Lucy  Maria  Kendall,  was  one  of  those  charming  women 
whose  lives  are  devoted  to  the  happiness  of  those  about  them.  She  died 
in  1879,  mourned  by  a  large  circle  of  friends  to  whom  her  superior  virtues 
had  endeared  her. 

The  boyhood  of  young  Slayton  was  passed  in  New  Hampshire,  and 
during  a  very  large  portion  of  it  he  was  in  the  excellent  schools  of  which 
New  England  is  justly  proud.  After  attending  the  District  and  High 
Schools  at  Lebanon,  he  entered  the  Kimball  Union  Academy — at  that 
time  the  leading  institution  of  its  class  in  New  England — and  pursued  a 
three  years'  course.  Having  thus  prepared  himself  for  college,  his  inten- 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  133 

tion  was  to  enter  upon  a  regular  collegiate  course,  but  the  breaking  out 
of  the  war  of  1861,  led  him  to  modify  his  plans.  The  assault  upon  the 
life  of  his  government  awakened  his  patriotism  to  a  degree  of  enthusiasm 
that  his  only  thought  was,  how  best  he  could  prepare  himself  for  the 
most  efficient  service  for  his  country.  Inheriting,  too,  a  sympathy  for 
those  in  bonds,  his  hope  to  see  the  institution  of  human  slavery  crushed  in 
the  conflict,  aroused  his  humanity  to  supplement  the  motives  of  patriotism. 
With  such  feelings,  and  for  the  accomplishment  of  the  highest  purposes, 
he  entered  Norwich  University  to  pursue  a  special  military  course  of  study. 
With  his  aptness  to  learn  he  readily  became  a  most  proficient  master  of 
military  tactics,  and  upon  leaving  the  university  was  employed  by  the 
State  of  New  Hampshire  to  organize  and  drill  her  volunteers.  Fulfilling 
his  contract  with  the  State  he  went  to  Washington  as  an  applicant  for  a 
commission  in  the  army,  and  was  compelled  to  submit  to  the  thorough 
and  exhaustive  examination  which  so  many  older  and  more  experienced 
men  failed  in  those  days  to  pass.  Young  Slayton,  however,  went  through 
it  victoriously,  and  having  received  his  commission  as  first  lieutenant,  was 
assigned  to  duty  in  the  Second  United  States  Colored  Infantry,  a  regiment 
which  was  officered  by  some  of  the  finest  military  talent  in  the  service, 
and  which  won  the  reputation  of  being  the  best  drilled  regiment  in  the 
entire  army.  He  was  in  active  service  about  two  years  and  a  half,  received 
promotion  to  a  captaincy  in  the  meantime,  and  was  a  member  of  a  military 
commission  and  court  martial,  with  headquarters  at  Tallahassee,  Tortugas 
and  Key  West,  Florida.  At  the  close  of  the  war  he  was  tendered  a  com- 
mission as  captain  in  the  regular  army,  which  honor  he  declined.  In  the 
Fall  of  1866  Mr.  Slayton  entered  the  Law  School  of  the  Albany  Univer- 
sity, from  which  he  graduated  in  1867  with  the  degree  of  Bachelor 
of  Laws.  In  the  Autumn  of  the  same  year  he  came  to  Chicago  and 
entered  the  law  office  of  Tyler  and  Hibbard,  where  he  remained  for  six 
months,  at  the  expiration  of  which  time  he  commenced  active  practice,  in 
which  he  continued  until  after  the  great  fire.  While  in  Albany  he  spent 
much  of  his  spare  time  in  the  extensive  State  Law  Library,  reading  criminal 
law,  and  examining  the  reports  and  decisions  in  capital  cases.  The  result 
of  these  investigations  was  to  make  him  a  strong  opponent  of  capital 
punishment,  and  many  of  the  articles  which  have  come  from  his  pen  upon 
the  subject,  have  been  largely  copied  in  both  Eastern  and  Western 
journals.  Soon  after  the  fire  of  1871  he  went  to  Texas,  having  accepted 
from  the  Governor  an  appointment  as  Superintendent  of  Schools  for 
several  counties.  He  entered  upon  this  work  with  his  usual  energy  and 
discretion,  riding  over  six  thousand  miles  on  horseback  while  in  the  dis- 
charge of  his  duty,  and  establishing  and  maintaining  a  fine  system  of 
schools.  Besides  these  duties  lie  also  successfully  managed  and  edited  a 
newspaper.  His  health  failing,  however,  he  returned  to  New  Hampshire. 
In  March,  1873,  Mr.  Slayton  was  married  at  Philadelphia,  Pennsyl- 
vania, to  Mina  E.  Gregory,  daughter  of  John  Gregory,  of  Northfield, 
Vermont.  At  the  time  of  her  marriage  Miss  Gregory  was  studying  elo- 


134  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

cution  with  the  celebrated  Murdock,  and  laying  the  foundation  for  the 
fame  which,  as  Mina  G.  Slayton,  she  has  since  achieved  as  a  dramatic 
reader.  In  the  Fall  of  1873  Mr.  Slayton  returned  to  Chicago  with  his 
accomplished  wife,  and  at  once  set  about  the  establishment  of  the  Slayton 
Lyceum  Bureau.  During  the  following  Winter  Mrs.  Slayton  gave 
twenty-five  readings  to  large  and  appreciative  audiences  in  Chicago 
alone.  But  even  that  and  all  the  other  work  which  the  Bureau  then 
did  was  insignificant  as  compared  to  its  present  operations,  with  its 
large  list  of  the  best  talent  in  the  world,  its  numerous  employees  at  the 
headquarters  in  the  Central  Music  Hall,  and  its  outside  managers,  furnish- 
ing and  directing  the  movements  of  lecturers,  readers,  singers,  and  dramatic 
and  concert  troupes  in  all  parts  of  the  continent.  Annually  the  Bureau 
issues  a  large  and  profusely  illustrated  magazine,  devoted  to  the  interests  • 
of  lecturers,  readers  actors  and  musicians,  and  for  the  benefit  of  lyceums 
and  associations,  as  well  as  for  general  reading.  It  is  the  only  magazine 
of  the  kind  published  in  the  country. 

As  a  manager  Mr.  Slayton  is  courageous  but  not  reckless;  enterpris- 
ing in  the  truest  sense,  but  sufficiently  conservative  to  avoid  the  dangers 
which  others  often  encounter.  Yet  young,  and  with  a  large  and  valuable 
experience,  it  is  reasonable  to  expect  that  the  Slayton  Lyceum  Bureau  will 
under  his  management  become  a  greater  honor  to  Chicago  -than  even  it 
now  is. 


'35 


CHAPTER  X. 


PUBLIC    PARKS. 

Chicago  has  the  grandest  system  of  public  parks  and  boulevards  in 
process  of  development  of  any  city  in  the  world,  and  thousands  of  its  own 
citizens  are  utterly  ignorant  of  the  extent  of  the  colossal  enterprise  which 
has  been  entered  upon  in  this  attempt  to  beautify  the  metropolis  and  to 
add  to  the  comfort  of  its  inhabitants.  All  know  the  names  and  locations 
of  the  great  parks  and  most  of  the  smaller,  but  of  the  Park  System 
many  know  nothing;  and  yet  it  is  so  grand  and  comprehensive  that  large 
as  the  city  is  in  population  and  territorial  extent,  it  is  far  in  advance  of  the 
supposed  natural  requirements  or  expectations  of  the  community.  But 
Chicago  almost  always  has  proceeded  in  her  course  of  maturing  with  an 
implicit,  confidence  in  the  greatness  of  her  future,  and  with  the  commend- 
able purpose  of  building  a.  beautiful  city  for  the  inheritance  of  posterity. 
On  every  hand  are  the  evidences  that  Chicago  is  being  built  and  adorned 
for  those  who  shall  come  after  the  busy,  tireless,  and  public-spirited  fathers 
and  grandfathers  who  are  now  upon  its  thronged  streets,  in  its  active  com- 
merce, and  planting  trees  and  flowers  upon  its  highways  and  blossoming 
public  grounds.  The  present  generation  might  have  imitated  the  folly  of 
the  earlier  generations  of  older  cities,  building  for  itself  alone,  and  leaving 
its  successors  to  chafe  in  narrow  streets,  contracted  buildings  and  apologies 
for  parks;  it  might  have  been  content  with  a  Boston  Common  in  the 
center  6*f  each  of  its  extensive  Divisions,  and  taught  the  children  that  one 
of  the  most  solemn  duties  of  all  the  future,  was  to  regard  these  limited 
spaces  devoted  to  nature  and  art,  with  such  holy  reverence  that  they  would 
be  satisfied  with  their  inadequacy  to  supply  the  soul's  longings  for  more 
extensive  beauty,  and  frown  upon  all  attempts  to  supersede  them  with 
greater. 

But  Chicago  has  been  laboring  for  1980  as  well  as  for  the  convenience 
and  pleasure  of  1880.  She  has  been  planting  trees,  marking  out  flower- 
beds and  constructing  royal  drives,  that  millrons  yet  unborn  will  glory  in 
as  one  of  the  chief  sources  of  pride  which  they  entertain  for  the  city  of 
their  birth  or  adoption.  Not  very  many  years  hence  and  the  most  captious 
will  not  dare  or  wish  to  say  that  the  parks  of  Chicago,  with  their  con- 
necting boulevards,  are  in  advance  of  the  growth  of  the  city ;  as  from  one 
park  to  another,  amidst  a  sea  of  fragrance  and  a  paradise  of  bloom,  the 
humblest  or  most  royal  equipage  rolls  with  its  admiring  occupants,  not  a 
voice  will  be  lifted  in  censure  of  what  has  been  done  to  inaugurate  the 


1^6  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

Park  System,  but  gleeful  hearts  will  throb  with   gratitude   to  the  faithful 
progenitors  and  guardians  of  the  city's  loveliest  characteristic. 

In  a  moral  point  of  view  the  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars  which 
have  been  spent  upon  the  public  parks,  is  worth  in  the  proportion  of 
thousands  to  hundreds  to  the  city.  Fresh  air  and  the  gentle  laughing  wel- 
come of  the  flowers  and  trees,  calms  many  a  spirit  which  is  nursing 
vengeance  against  the  individual  or  society.  It  is  not  sentiment,  but  a  fact, 
that  a  flower  will  often  do  more  than  a  policeman's  club.  If  the  people 
who  are  huddled  together  in  the  tenement  houses  of  this  city,  left  to  live 
t  alone,  often  in  squalor,  and  as  often  left  to  die  alone,  and  to  be  buried  with- 
out even  a  minister  coming  to  the  house,  could  be  brought  into  communion 
with  nature  as  she  presents  herself  upon  our  parks,  less  crime  would  be 
committed,  and  more  courage  would  be  generated  to  withstand  the  cold 
heartlessness  of  the  world.  Every  tree  and  every  flower  that  a  city  grows 
is  a  moral  power  which  to  some  extent  preserves  its  peace,  and  insures 
safety  to  life  and  property.  Money  is  not,  therefore,  thrown  away  upon 
parks,  in  whatever  light  they  may  be  viewed.  They  are  an  adornment; 
they  are  a  luxury;  they  are  a  pulpit  and  a  police. 

Plain  as  this  is  to  every  observant  mind,  however,  the  Park  System  in 
Chicago  has  found  opponents,  who  have  fought  its  development  to  the 
extent  of  legal  means,  and,  of  course,  to  the  extent  of  their  influence. 
But  it  has  gone  steadily  along  until  hundreds  of  acres  have  been  covered 
with  tastefully  pathed  verdure  and  artistically  arranged  lakes  and  other 
adornments.  The  city  is  still  the  Garden  City,  but  her  gardens  now  are 
those  which  culture  and  capital  have  made  her  elegant  parks.  If  the  next 
forty  years  shall  do  what  the  last  have  done,  Chicago  will  approach  the 
splendors  of  Babylon  in  the  days  of  swinging  gardens  and  artistic  triumphs. 
The  report  of  the  Commissioners  of  Lincoln  Park,  for  1877,  contains 
a  history  of  the  enterprise,  and  as  none  better  could  be  written,  it  is  here 
reproduced,  with  but  few  alterations  or  additions: 

The  Board  of  Commissioners  of  Lincoln  Park  was  created  by  an  Act  of 
the  General  Assembly  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  approved  February  8th, 
1869,  and  Acts  supplementary  and  amendatory  thereto.  In  the  original 
Act,  E.  B.  McCagg,  J.  B.  Turner,  Joseph  Stockton,  Jacob  Rehm,  and 
Andrew  Nelson  were  named  as  the  first  Board  of  Commissioners.  They 
met  March  i6th,  1869,  and  organized  by  the  election  of  E.  B.  McCagg  as 
President.  The  time  of  the  Board  for  the  first  year  was  mainly  devoted 
to  a  topographical  study  of  the  territory  to  be  embraced  within  the  park, 
preparing  plans  for  future  improvement,  and  starting  the  machinery  which 
had  been  devised  by  the  law;  the  first  improvement  of  note  that  was 
ordered  by  the  Board,  was  the  construction  of  the  lake  shore  drive  front- 
ing  the  park,  and  which  was  partially  completed  and  opened  to  the  public 
during  their  administration. 

By  an  Act  of  the  General  Assembly,  approved  June  i6th,  1871,  pro- 
vision was  made  for  the  appointment  of  a  new  Board  of  Commissioners, 
a  question  having  been  raised  as  to  the  power  of  the  legislature  to  name 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  137 

the  Commissioners  in  the  law.  In  November,  1871,  the  Governor  appointed 
as  such  Commissioners,  Samuel  M.  Nickerson,  Joseph  Stockton,  Belden 
F.  Culver,  William  H.  Bradley  and  Francis  H.  Kales,  to  succeed  the 
Board  which  had  been  named  in  the  original  law.  The  first  meeting  of 
the  new  Board  was  held  November  28th,  1871,  and  organized  by  the  elec- 
tion of  B.  F.  Culver  as  President.  Under  the  administration  of  this  Board* 
proceedings  were  instituted  for  acquiring  title  to  the  various  tracts  of  land 
embraced  within  the  limits  of  the  park.  In  February,  1874,  Commission- 
ers Nickerson,  Bradley  and  Kales  resigned,  and  the  Governor  appointed  as 
their  successors,  F.  H.  Winston,  A.  C.  Hesing,  and  Jacob  Rehm.  At  the 
meeting  of  the  Board,  February  24th,,  1874,  B.  F.  Culver  resigned  as 
President,  and  F.  H.  Winston  was  elected  as  President  of  the  Board. 

During  the  term  of  this  Board,  the  condemnation  proceedings  were 
completed,  and  the  title  acquired  to  all  the  territory  to  be  embraced  within 
the  park,  except  as  to  a  small  portion  of  the  cemetery  tract,  and  the  Pine 
street  drive  was  so  far  completed  as  to  be  opened  for  the  public  use.  Com- 
missioners Rehm  and  Hesing  resigned  in  July,  1876,  and  the  Governor 
appointed  as  their  successors,  T.  F.  Withrow  and  L.  J.  Kadish.  Com- 
missioner Culver  resigned  in  June,  1877,  and  the  Governor  appointed 
Max  Hjortsberg  as  his  successor. 

Pursuant  to  the  provisions  of  the  original  Act,  which  contemplated 
that  Lincoln  Park  should  be  a  city  park,  the  Board,  in  1869,  applied  to 
the  Mayor  of  Chicago  to  issue  the  bonds  of  the  city  for  an  amount  neces- 
sary for  the  purchase  of  the  land  to  be  embraced  in  the  park.  The  Mayor 
refusing  to  act  in  the  matter,  an  application  was  made  for  a  mandamus  to 
compel  the  issue  of  the  bonds.  The  law  being  declared  invalid,  necessi- 
tated additional  legislation,  which,  by  an  Act  of  the  General  Assembly 
approved  June  i6th,  1871,  authorized  a  special  assessment  to  be  made  by 
the  corporate  authorities  of  the  towns  of  North  Chicago  and  Lake  View 
— within  which  towns  the  park  lies — on  all  the  lands  deemed  benefited,  for 
the  enlargement  and  improvement  of  Lincoln  Park.  Pursuant  thereto, 
an  assessment  was  made  in  1873,  and  confirmed  by  the  Circuit  Court.  On 
an  appeal  to  the  Supreme  Court  an  error  was  pointed  out  in  the  law, 
which  again  compelled  the  Commissioners  to  invoke  the  power  of  the 
legislature,  and  ask  that  the  law  be  amended  in  conformity  with  the  decision 
of  the  court. 

A  special  assessment  as  provided  by  an  Act  approved  February  iSth, 
1874,  was  made  in  July,  1875,  by  the  Supervisor  and  Assessor  of  the  town 
of  North  Chicago  on  all  the  lots  and  lands  in  said  town  deemed  benefited 
by  the  proposed  improvement,  and  was  sustained  by  the  Supreme  Court. 
Thus  the  Board  have  been  enabled  to  secure  the  lands  which  are  embraced 
within  the  limits  of  the  park.  The  entire  expenditures  of  the  Commission 
since  its  organization  in  1869  to  April  ist,  1880,  a  period  of  eleven  years, 
have  been,  $2,091,968.80;  and  the  receipts  during  the  same  period  have 
been  $2,112,526.54. 

The  park,  with  the  shore  drive  to  Pine  street,  contains  two  hundred 


138  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

and  fifty  acres,  and  has  a  frontage  on  Lake  Michigan  of  two  and  a  quartet 
miles,  and  a  driveway  which  borders  the  lake  the  entire  distance.  The 
larger  proportion  of  the  territory  within  the  limits  of  the  park  is  now 
under  improvement,  much  of  it  having  been  converted  from  a  barren  waste 
of  sand  into  a  delightful  pleasure  resort  for  the  people. 

The  other  parks  in  the  city  being  less  centrally  located,  and  not  so  con- 
venient of  access,  are  frequented  largely  by  the  wealthier  classes,  the 
visitors  in  carriages  far  outnumbering  those  on  foot.  But  Lincoln  Park, 
bordered  on  two  sides  by  a  dense  population,  and  convenient  of  approach, 
is  the  daily  resort  of  all  classes  of  the  community,  the  poor  as  well  as  the 
rich  enjoying  the  pleasure  it  affords,  the  pedestrians  far  outnumbering 
those  who  ride. 

Without  any  of  the  advantages  of  diversified  surface,  fertility  of  soil, 
or  natural  shade,  possessed  by  parks  elsewhere  to  aid  in  beautifying  and 
improving  the  tract  which  the  law  has  appropriated  for  the  park,  there 
has  been  a  constant  struggle  to  reduce  the  soil — if  such  the  sandy  surface 
may  be  termed — to  subjection,  that  the  waste  places  might  bloom. 

Equally  vigorous  has  been  the  contest  to  reduce  the  sea  to  subjection 
and  protect  the  shore  from  its  encroachments.  With  whatever  of  means  at 
command,  and  with  the  best  information  to  be  had,  the  Board  for  many 
years  resorted  to  temporary  expedients  for  the  protection  of  the  shore;  but 
so  unsightly  were  these  structures,  and  so  unsatisfactory  withal,  that  the 
Board  abandoned  all  temporizing,  and  entered  upon  the  construction  of  a 
breakwater  known  as  the  Netherlands  plan,  consisting  of  brush  mattresses 
laid  along  the  shore  in  a  depth  of  from  three  to  five  feet  of  water,  the 
surface  being  paved  with  stone. 

The  Commissioners  at  this  writing  are  F.  H.  Winston,  Joseph  Stock- 
ton, T.  F.  Withrow,  L.  J.  Kadish,  Max  Hjortsberg;  and  the  officers  are,. 
President,  F.  H.  Winston;  Secretary,  E.  S.  Taylor;  Treasurer,  John  De 
Koven;  Superintendent,  Olof  Benson. 

The  Board  of  West  Chicago  Park  Commissioners  was  created  by  an 
Act  of  the  legislature,  which  was  approved  February  2yth,  1869.  Under, 
this  law  the  Governor  on  the  twenty-sixth  of  the  following  April  appointed 
Charles  C.  P.  Holden,  Henry  Greenebaum,  George  W.  Stanford,  E.  F. 
Runyan,  Isaac  R.  Hitt,  Clark  Lipe,  and  David  Cole,  Commissioners. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Board,  held  June  25th,  1869,  Messrs.  Greenebaum, 
Hitt,  and  Runyan,  were  appointed  a  committee  to  select  the  locations  for 
the  parks  contemplated  by  the  Act  of  the  legislature.  In  his  first  report, 
the  President  of  the  Board,  George  W.  Stanford — whose  language,  with 
some  slight  alterations,  is  used  here  to  record  the  early  history  of  the  West 
Chicago  parks — said  that  under  the  law,  the  Board  was  required  to  locate 
and  establish  a  boulevard  running  from  the  North  Branch  of  the  Chicago 
river,  commencing  at  a  point  north  of  Fullerton  avenue,  running  thence 
west,  one  mile  or  more  west  of  Western  avenue,  and  thence  southerly, 
with  such  curves  and  deviations  as  the  Board  should  deem  expedient,  to 
the  Chicago,  Burlington  and  Quincy  railroad  line,  and  on  line  of  said 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  130 

boulevard  to  establish  three  parks;  the  north  park  to  be  in  size  not  less 
than  two  hundred  acres,  to  cost  not  to  exceed  two  hundred  and  fifty  thou- 
sand dollars,  and  to  be  located  north  of  Kinzie  street;  the  middle  park  to  be 
located  between  Kinzie  and  Harrison  streets,  to  be  in  size  not  less  than  one 
hundred  acres,  and  to  cost  not  to  exceed  four  hundred  thousand  dollars; 
the  southern  park  to  be  not  less  than  one  hundred  acres  in  size,  and  to  cost 
not  to  exceed  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars,  to  be  located  south  of 
Harrison  street,  and  north  of  the  Chicago,  Burlington  and  Quincy  railroad 
line — the  aggregate  cost  of  parks  and  boulevards  not  to  exceed  one  million 
and  fifty  thousand  dollars. 

On  the  fifteenth  of  July,  the  committee,  under  direction  of  the 
Board,  pursuant  to  the  provisions  of  section  nine  of  the  Park  Act,  sub- 
mitted to  the  public  ten  plans  or  suggestions -for  the  locations  of  the  parks. 
These  were  exhibited  for  ten  days  thereafter,  and  offers  for  the  sale  of  lands 
and  donation  of  the  same  invited.  The  result  was  that  no  offers  were 
received,  whereupon  the  committee  prepared  three  other  plans  or  sug- 
gestions, which  were,  on  the  fifth  of  August,  submitted  to  the  public, 
and  donations  again  solicited. 

The  result  was  that  donations  for  a  portion  of  the  boulevards  were 
made,  and  fourteen  acres  promised  conditionally,  to  be  used  in  the 
purchase  of  the  northern  park.  The  committee  having  this  matter  in 
charge,  made  their  report  to  the  Board  on  the  nineteenth  of  August, 
setting  forth  the  plans  which  had  been  submitted  to  the  public  under  the 
provisions  of  the  law,  reporting  the  donations  made  or  promised.  Final 
action  was  not  taken  on  this  report  until  the  fourth  of  November, 
1869,  when  the  Board,  by  resolution,  definitely  fixed  and  established  the 
lines  and  boundaries  of  parks  and  boulevards. 

The  great  difficulty  of  obtaining  the  land  at  a  reasonable  price,  naturally 
presented  itself,  and  gave  rise  to  prolonged  negotiations.  The  Commis- 
sioners had  no  money  and  no  means  of  getting  any,  until  special  assessments 
could  be  levied  and  collected,  and  yet  they  were  in  the  market  endeavoring 
to  purchase  these  lands.  The  lands  in  the  vicinity  of  the  parks,  too,  were 
held  at  such  a  figure  that  the  Commissioners  did  not  feel  warranted  in 
paying  the  prices  asked,  and  invariably  refused  to  buy,  except  in  cases 
where  concessions  of  twenty  or  twenty-five  per  cent,  were  made.  The 
Commissioners  were  willing  to  pay  for  the  lands  taken,  according  to  the 
value  placed  upon  them  by  the  assessors  appointed  by  the  courts  to  con- 
demn the  same,  and  they  were  willing  to  pay  what  such  assessors  would 
be  reasonably  supposed  to  determine  as  the  worth  of  the  land,  without  the 
trouble  of  appealing  to  the  courts  at  all.  But  how  this  value  was  to  be 
arrived  at,  except  through  the  assessors,  was  a  question  which  caused  the  ex- 
penditure of  much  time  and  labor.  The  Commissioners  insisted  that  the 
proper  solution  of  the  matter  was  to  inquire  what  the  lands  were  worth  at 
the  time  they  were  selected  for  the  location  of  the  parks,  without  any 
regard  to  the  effect  which  the  contemplated  improvements  had  upon  them. 
In  other  words,  it  was  claimed  that  the  lands  selected  obtained  no  additional 


140  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

value  by  reason  of  the  improvements,  more  than  lands  unfavorably  located 
outside  of  the  same;  that  the  latter  received  little  or  no  advance  because 
they  were  so  far  removed  from  the  improvement,  and  that  the  former  were 
entitled  to  no  advance  because  they  were  selected  as  a  part  of  the  improve- 
ment; that  the  value  of  lands  unfavorably  located  outside  the  parks — 
other  things  being  equal — furnished  the  true  test  of  value  of  lands  inside  of 
the  parks.  Upon  this  basis  substantially  the  Commissioners  made  their 
purchases,  making  the  purchase  money  payable  in  three  installments,  thus 
dividing  the  special  assessment  into  three  annual  assessments,  instead  of 
raising  the  money  by  one  assessment  as  would  have  been  necessary  if  the 
land  had  been  secured  by  condemnation. 

The  resources  from  which  to  make  improvements  in  the  parks  were 
as  follows:  First,  the  proceeds  of  the  bonds  which  might  be  issued  under 
section  fifteen  of  the  Park  Bill,  which  could  in  no  event  exceed  fifty  thou- 
sand dollars,  and  which  amount  had  to  be  diminished  by  any  deficiencies 
paid  therefrom  and  also  by  the  necessary  outlays  required  in  the  condemna- 
tion of  lands.  Second,  the  proceeds  of  the  half-mill  tax,  levied  under  the 
sixteenth  section  of  the  Act,  upon  the  taxable  property  of  the  town  of  West 
Chicago,  after  a  sufficient  amount  had  been  set  apart  to  retire  the  bonds 
issued  under  the  fifteenth  section.  Third,  such  sum  as  might  be  received 
from  the  sale  of  lands  by  the  city  to  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company 
under  the  provisions  of  an' Act  of  the  legislature,  familiarly  known  as  the 
Lake  Front  Bill. 

By  the  provisions  of  this  Act,  the  city  of  Chicago  was  required  to  quit 
claim  to  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company,  the  Chicago,  Burlington 
and  Quincy  Railroad  Company,  and  to  the  Michigan  Central  Railroad 
Company  the  land  lying  north  of  the  south  line  of  Monroe  street,  and 
south  of  the  south  line  of  Randolph  street,  and  between  the  east  line  of 
Michigan  avenue,  and  west  of  the  track  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad 
Company,  for  the  sum  of  eight  hundred  thousand  dollars.  This  sum,  by 
the  provisions  of  the  Act,  was  set  apart  as  a  park  fund  of  the  city  of  Chicago, 
to  be  distributed  between  the  three  Divisions  of  the  city,  upon  the  basis  of 
the  assessed  value  of  the  taxable  real  estate  of  each  of  said  Divisions,  and 
should  be  applied  to  the  purchase  and  improvement  of  public  parks. 

Thus  the  West  Chicago  park  and  boulevard  system  was  inaugurated 
and  so  successfully  and  beneficially  that  even  in  1873  the  President  of  the 
Board  in  his  annual  report  recorded  the  facts  that  while  in  1868,  the  year 
before  the  Park  Act  was  passed,  the  lands  added  by  this  Act  to  the  city 
were  assessed  and  paid  taxes  on  a  valuation  of  $429,660,  in  1872  the  same 
lands  were  assessed  and  paid  taxes  on  a  city  assessment  of  $9,506,230;  that 
the  whole  amount  of  general  taxes  collected  by  the  city  from  these  lands 
since  the  law  took  effect  in  1869,  was  the  sum  of  $433,820.40,  •  and 
the  State,  county  and  town  taxes  received  from  the  same  lands,  during  the 
same  time  on  the  increase  of  assessed  values  was,  in  round  numbers,  $223,000, 
making  a  total  of  $656,820.40  of  revenues  received  in  the  four  years  from 
this  added  territory.  This  amount  was  more  than  forty  per  cent,  of  the 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  141 

total  amount  expended  for  the  purchase  and   improvement  of  the  parks 
up  to  1872. 

This  entire  Park  System,  exclusive  of  boulevards,  embraces  an  area 
of  five  hundred  and  sixty-five  acres,  two  hundred  acres  in  Humboldt  Park, 
one  hundred  and  eighty-five  acres  in  Central  Park,  and  one  hundred 
and  eighty  in  Douglas  Park.  Humboldt  Park  is  the  most  northern  of- 
the  three,  and  Douglas  Park  the  most  southern.  The  system  embraces  the 
connection  of  the  West  Parks  with  the  South  and  Lincoln  by  boulevards 
two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  wide,  as  perfect  for  travel  as  ingenuity  can 
devise,  and  beautiful  as  nature  and  art  can  suggest.  Around  the  city 
and  through  its  suburbs  upon  driveways  that  are  as  smooth  as  a  floor,  and 
edged  with  a  wilderness  of  flowers  and  delightful  foliage,  is  a  description 
of  what  the  parks  and  boulevards  of  Chicago  are  intended  to  be,  and  what 
they  are  now  to  an  encouraging  degree. 

The  reader  would  hardly  care  to  be  led   through  the  details  of  the 
artistic  development  of  these  parks,  although  it  would  be  an  enchanting  story 
of  decoration,  which  would  hold  many  a  lover  of  the  beautiful  for  hours, 
when  even  the  eyelids  would  like  to  droop.      It  would  be  a  developing 
picture  of  the  harvest  field  transformed  into  the  glory  of  the  flower  garden; 
of  a  comparative  wild  converted  into  a  bower;  of  a  cloud    melting  into 
sunshine;  of  an  endeavor  to  answer  the  demands  of  a  refined  and  refining 
taste  in  a  center  of  advanced  and   advancing  civilization.     This  would  be 
an   entertaining  panorama,  and   yet   likely   might  be  irksome.       But  this 
volume  would  hardly  be  acceptable  to  the  most  indulgent  critic,  if  it  failed 
to  mention  the  origin  of,  and  describe  the  Fire  Monument  in  Central  Park. 
After  the  fire  of  1871  it  was  suggested  that  a  monument  be  erected  to 
commemorate  the  disaster,  not  for  the  purpose  of  keeping   its  memory 
green  .among  those  who  had  seen-  and  felt  it — for  there  was  no  doubt  that 
its  path  would  always  be  visible  to  them — but  as  a  reminder  to  those  who 
might  come  after.      The  original    idea  was  to  build    in  Central    Park  a 
monument  exclusively  of  the  relics  of  the  fire,  but  on  mature r  deliberation, 
the  erection  of  a  somber  looking  tombstone,  when  a  resurrection  had  taken 
place,  and  when  the  entire  world  had  poured  in  its  contributions  to  fill  up 
the  tomb,  was  deemed  inappropriate.     It  was,  therefore,  decided  to  erect  a 
monument   which   would    have  a  side   upon  which  the  sunbeams  would 
always  crayon  the  picture  of  humanity's  sympathy  for   humanity  in  need, 
as  well  as  a  side  that  would  cast  a  shadow.      An   elegant  monument  was 
consequently  designed,  and  it  was  intended  to  have   the  corner  stone  laid 
on  the  first  anniversary  of  the  fire,  but  so   many  business  houses  had   been 
built  during  the  year,  that  the  desire  seemed  to  be  to  celebrate  the  anni- 
versary  by  moving  into  the  new  stores;  consequently   the   laying   of  the 
corner    stone  of  the  fire    monument   was  deferred   until   the  thirtieth  of 
October  following.    The  burnt  safes  were  used  as  a  shaft,  but  the  base  was 
constructed  of  material  upon  which  it  would  be  convenient  to  inscribe  the 
o-ratitude  of  Chicago  to  the  world  that  had  remembered  her  in  her  distress. 

O  O 

W.  L.  B.  Jenney,  the  architect  and  engineer,  in  1873,  describes  the  objects 


142  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

in  view  and  the  monument  as  follows:  "One  of  the  most  remarkable  facts- 
connected  with  our  great  fire,  was  the  unprecedented  generosity  of  the 
entire  civilized  world,  in  contributing  to  the  relief  of  our  needy  sufferers. 
As  a  slight  token  of  recognition  we  would  inscribe  upon  this  monument 
the  names  of  cities  and  the  amounts  of  their  most  liberal  donations.  For 
this  purpose  eleven  large  tablets  are  arranged  on  the  walls  of  the  first  story 
corresponding  to  the  openings  of  a  Gothic  arcade.  A  twelfth  panel  is  a 
doorway  leading  to  the  stairway,  to  the  terrace  above  where  are  eight  other 
Gothic  panels  and  tablets.  Thf  interior  walls  of  the  first  and  second  stories 
are  decorated  with  other  panels  for  inscriptions,  and  such  cut  stone  as  was 
obtained  from  destroyed  buildings.  The  summit  of  the  spire  is  surmounted 
by  a  quadruple  Gothic  column,  on  which  stands  a  female  figure  holding 
aloft  in  both  hands  a  flaming  torch,  emblematic  of  destruction  by  fire. 
The  foundations  for  this  monument  were  built  and  the  corner  stone  was 
laid  by  the  Masonic  fraternity  with  the  usual  ceremonies." 

Until  1879,  very  little  change  was  made  in  the  Board  of  Commis- 
sioners, from  those  originally  appointed,  until  1878.  Emil  Dreier  was 
appointed  in  1873;  .Louis  Shultze  and  A.  C.  Millard  were  appointed  in 
1876:  A.  Muns  in  1877;  Samuel  H.  McCrea  and  J.  W.  Bennett  in  1878. 
In  1878  the  Governor  became  dissatisfied  with  the  Board,  and  after  inform- 
ing it  of  his  intention  to  constitute  a  new  Board,  and  being  unsuccessfully 
opposed  in  his  course,  in  the  courts,  he  appointed  Willard  Woodard, 
Samuel  H.  McCrea,  Sextus  N.  Wilcox,  John  Brenock,  Emil  Wilken,  E. 
Erwin  Wood,  and  George  Rahlfs. 

The  South  Park  System  was  provided  for  by  an  Act  of  the  legisla- 
ture known  as  the  South  Park  Act,  which  was  approved  February  24th, 
1869,  and  the  Act  amendatory  and  supplementary  thereto  was  approved 
April  1 6th,  1869.  On  the  sixteenth  of  April,  1869 — the  history  presented 
by  the  Commissioners  in  1876  is  here  adopted — John  M.  Wilson,  George 
W.  Gage,  Chauncey  T.  Bowen,  L.  B.  Sidway  and  Paul  Cornell,  having 
been  duly  appointed  Commissioners,  qualified  as  such;  and  on  the  thirteenth 
of  April,  1869,  organized  as  a  Board,  by  the  election  of  John  M.  Wilson  as 
President;  Paul  Cornell,  Secretary;  George  W.  Smith,  Treasurer;  and 
George  W.  Gage,  Auditor. 

Chauncey  T.  Bowen's  term  of  office  having  expired  on  the  first  of 
March,  1870,  he  was  re-appointed,  and  afterward,  on  the  first  of  February, 

1871,  he   having   resigned,  the  vacancy   was  filled    by    the   appointment 
of  Potter  Palmer.    George  W.  Gage's  term  having  expired  on  the  first  of 
March,  1871,  he  was  re-appointed.      Paul   Cornell's   term  having  expired 
on  the  first  of  March,  1872,  he  was  re-appointed.     On  the  second  of  May, 

1872,  John  M.   Wilson   resigned,    and   C.   T.    Bowen   was   appointed  to 
fill  his  place,  and  in   March,  1873,  the  time  for  which  he  was  appointed 
having  expired,  he  was  re-appointed  to  serve  for  five  years.      L.   B.  Sid- 
way's  term  expiring  in   March,  1874,  he  was  re-appointed   for  five  years. 
In  April,  1874,  Potter  Palmer  resigned,  and  James  Morgan  was  appointed 
in  his  place. 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  143 

Mr.  Cornell  resigned  the  office  of  Secretary  on  the  first  of  March, 
1871,  and  William  L.  Greenleaf  was  appointed  to  fill  the  vacancy.  On  the 
nineteenth  of  March,  1873,  W.  L.  Greenleaf  was  appointed  collector  of 
the  Board,  and  H.  W.  Harmon  was  elected  Secretary.  George  W.  Smith 
resigned  the  office  of  Treasurer  on  the  first  of  December,  1870,  and 
J.  Irving  Pearce  was  elected  to  fill  the  vacancy.  Mr.  Pearce's  term  of 
office  having  expired,  Isaac  N.  Hardin  was  elected  Treasurer  on  the 
thirteenth  of  March,  1871.  On  the  expiration  of  his  term,  in  March,  1872 
J.  Irving  Pearce  was  elected  his  successor.  George  W.  Gage  continued  to 
hold  the  office  of  Auditor  until  the  thirteenth  of  March,  1871,  when  he 
resigned,  and  L.  B.  Sidway  was  chosen  to  fill  the  vacancy.  Mr.  Sidway 
held  the  office  of  Auditor  until  March,  1875,  when  George  W.  Gage  was 
again  elected  Auditor,  and  served  until  his  death,  on  the  twenty-fourth  of 
September,  1875. 

Soon  after  the  organization  of  the  Board  in  1869,  and  within  the  time 
limited  by  the  Act  establishing  the  South  Park,  the  lands  designated  in 
said  Act  were  formally  selected  by  the  Commissioners,  and  an  accurate 
description  of  the  same  placed  upon  their  records.  Immediately  there- 
after the  Board  examined  the  said  lands  and  made  diligent  inquiry  in  rela- 
tion to  their  value.  The  probable  cost  of  the  lands  was  estimated  at  one 
million,  eight  hundred  and  sixty-five  thousand  and  seven  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars,  and  an  application  was  made  to  the  Circuit  Court  for  the 
appointment  of  three  assessors  to  assess  that  amount  upon  the  property 
benefited.  This  application  having  been  refused,  the  Board  applied  for  a 
mandamus  to  the  Supreme  Court.  The  case  made  was  argued  before  the 
Supreme  Court,  and  a  mandamus  awarded.  Thereupon  the  Circuit  Court 
appointed  assessors,  who  entered  immediately  upon  the  performance  of 
their  duties.  It  was  afterward  ascertained  that  the  cost  of  the  lands  com- 
posing the  park  would  considerably  exceed  the  original  estimate;  and  the 
Board,  having  been  authorized  by  the  Act  of  June  i6th,  1871,  to  reviser 
enlarge  and  correct  the  estimate  which  had  been  made,  it  was  decided, 
upon  further  examination  and  inquiry,  to  increase  the  assessment  to  three 
million,  three  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  dollars. 

These  lands  were  designated  in  the  Act  as  those  situated  in  the  towns 
of  South  Chicago,  Hyde  Park  and  Lake,  in  Cook  county,  Illinois,  to  wit: 
commencing  at  the  southwest  corner  of  Fifty-first  street  and  Cottage  Grove 
avenue,  running  thence  south  along  the  west  side  of  Cottage  Grove  avenue 
to  the  south  line  of  Fifty-ninth  street;  thence  east  along  the  south  line  of 
Fifty-ninth  street  to  the  east  line  of  Hyde  Park  avenue;  thence  north  on 
Hyde  Park  avenue  to  Fifty-sixth  street;  thence  east  along  the  south  line 
of  Fifty-sixth  street  to  Lake  Michigan;  thence  southerly  along  the  shore  of 
the  lake  to  a  point  due  east  of  the  center  of  section  twenty-four,  in  town- 
ship thirty-eight  north,  range  fourteen;  thence  west  through  the  center  of 
said  section  twenty-four  to  Hyde  Park  avenue;  thence  north  on  the  east. 
line  of  Hyde  Park  avenue  to  the  north  line  of  Sixtieth  street,  so  called; 
thence  west  on  the  north  line  of  Sixtieth  street,  so  called,  to  Kanka- 


144  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

kee  avenue;  thence  north  on  the  east  line  of  Kankakee  avenue  to  Fifty- 
first  street;  then  east  to  a  point  to  the  place  of  beginning;  also  a  piece  of 
land  commencing  at  the  southeast  corner  of  Kankakee  avenue  and  Fifty- 
fifth  street,  running  thence  west  a  strip  two  hundred  feet  wide  adjoining 
the  north  line  of  Fifty-fifth  street,  along  said  Fifty-fifth  street  to  the  line 
between  ranges  thirteen  and  fourteen  east;  thence  north,  east  of  and  adT 
joining  said  line,  a  strip  two  hundred  feet  wide,  to  the  Illinois  and 
Michigan  canal;  also  a  parcel  of  land  beginning  at  the  southwest  corner 
of  Douglas  place  and  Kankakee  avenue,  running  thence  south  a  strip  of 
land  one  hundred  and  thirty-two  feet  wide,  along  the  west  side  of  said 
Kankakee  avenue,  to  a  point  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  south  of  the  south 
line  of  Fifty-first  street ;  also  a  strip  of  land  commencing  at  the  intersection 
of  Cottage  Grove  avenue  and  Fifty-fii'st  street,  running  thence  east  one 
hundred  feet  in  width  on  each  side  of  the  center  line  of  Fifty-first  street,  to 
a  point  one  hundred  feet  east  of  the  center  line  of  Drexel  avenue;  also  a 
strip  of  land  extending  north  from  the  intersection  of  Fifty-first  street  with 
Drexel  avenue,  one  hundred  feet  in  width  on  each  side  of  the  center  line 
of  said  avenue  to  the  north  line  of  Forty-third  street;  thence  northerly,  a 
strip  of  land  two  hundred  feet  in  width,  till  it  meets  or  intersects  with 
Elm  street  in  Cleaverville;  thence  northerly  along  said  Elm  street 
two  hundred  feet  in  width,  west  from  the  east  line  of  said  street,  to 
its  intersection  with  Oakwood  avenue;  which  said  land  and  premises, 
the  Act  provided,  when  acquired  by  said  Commissioners,  should  be 
held,  managed  and  controlled  by  the  Commissioners  and  their  succes- 
sors, as  a  public  pai  k,  for  the  recreation,  health  and  benefit  of  the  public, 
and  free  to  all  persons  forever,  subject  to  such  necessary  rules  and  regula- 
tions as  should  from  time  to  time  be  adopted  by  said  Commissioners  and 
their  successors  for  the  well  ordering  and  government  of  the  same. 

Afterward  an  amendatory  Act  provided  that  the  section  in  the  original 
Act  reading:  "A  piece  of  land  commencing  at  the  southeast  corner  of 
Kankakee  avenue  and  Fifty-fifth  street;  running  thence  west  a  strip  two 
hundred  feet  wide  adjoining  the  north  line  of  Fifty-fifth  street,"  is  hereby 
amended  by  substituting  in  lieu  thereof  the  words:  "A  piece  of  land  com- 
mencing at  the  northeast  corner  of  Kankakee  avenue  and  Fifty-fifth  street, 
running  thence  west  a  strip  two  hundred  feet  wide  south  of  and  adjoining 
the  north  line  of  said  Fifty-fifth  street." 

The  area  of  this  system  is  one  thousand  and  fifty-five  acres,  and  is 
reached  from  the  north  by  two  magnificent  boulevards — Drexel  and  Grand 
— two  hundred  feet  wide,  which  are  tastefully  set  with  trees  and  fringed 
with  flowers.  The  charming  beauty  of  South  Park  is  largely  the  creation 
of  the  eminent  Chicago  Landscape  Architect,  H.  W.  S.  Cleveland.  His 
master  hand  is  seen  among  the  lawns,  the  trees,  the  walks  and  drives. 

The  Board  of  Commissioners  is  now  composed  of  James  Morgan, 
John  R.  Walsh,  Paul  Cornell,  John  B.  Sherman  and  Cornelius  Price. 


r45 


CHAPTER  X. 


MANUFACTURES. 

It  is  difficult  to  decide  as  to  what  branch  of  Chicago's  history  is 
entitled  to  the  greatest  admiration.  The  entire  record  is  so  exceptional  in 
grandeur  that  the  mind,  after  considering  one  distinguishing  element  and 
then  another,  thinking  each,  perhaps,  the  most  astonishing  outgrowth 
of  industry  and  enterprise  that  it  ever  contemplated,  finally  becomes 
bewildered  in  the  attempt  to  particularize,  and  contents  itself  with  the 
enchanting  view  of  the  whole,  expressing  its  estimate  in  the  thought  : 
Chicago  is  a  marvel!  Her  buildings  are  so  palatial,  her  streets  are  so 
roomy,  her  parks  and  boulevards  are  so  elegant,  her  people  are  so  public 
spirited,  that  the  mind  hesitates  to  linger  upon  parts,  and  becomes,  probably, 
too  often  a  devotee  of  the  entirety  alone.  But  a  grand  whole  is  made  of 
grand  parts,  any  one  of  which  is  entitled  to  the  utmost  reverence  and 
adulation. 

The  manufacturing  interests  of  Chicago  are  among  the  brightest  of 
the  numerous  ones  of  which  she  and  the  country  are  proud.  They  are  not 
only  world  wide  in  reputation,  but  they  have  played  a  prominent  part  in 
advancing  civilization,  having  enabled  the  world  to  increase  its  pro- 
ductiveness and  to  enjoy  life,  which  are  among  the  highest  objects  at  which 
civilization  aims.  Our  reaper  and  car  manufactures  in  themselves  are 
sufficient  to  sustain  such  a  claim. 

It  is  interesting,  therefore,  to  glance  at  the  rise  and  progress  of  manu- 
facturing in  Chicago,  which  as  late  as  1850,  amounted  to  almost  nothing. 
In  that  year  the  entire  force  employed  in  manufacturing  establishments  in 
Cook  county  was  scarcely  more  than  two  thousand  workmen,  and  the 
annual  product  of  manufacturing  hardly  exceeded  two  and  a  half  million 
dollars.  In  1853  there  was  considerable  life  instilled  into  this  branch  of 
industry,  which,  perhaps,  had  developed  as  rapidly  as  the  most  sanguine 
had  expected.  In  September  of  this  year  the  Chicago  Locomotive  Com- 
pany organized,  with  a  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars  capital,  and 
built  the  first  three  locomotives  constructed  in  Chicago;  the  American 
Car  Company  began  business  and  turned  out  nearly  a  half  million 
dollars  of  work;  the  Union  Car  Works  built  thirty  passenger  and  ten 
baggage  cars;  Stone  &  Boomer  constructed  ten  bridges  and  nineteen  turn- 
tables; five  carnage  and  wagon  establishments  manufactured  nearly  a 
hundred  and  twenty  thousand  dollars  worth  of  their  specialties;  five 
furniture  factories  were  in  operation;  four  machine  shops  aggregated  an 


146  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

annual  business  of  two  hundred  and  seventy  thousand  dollars;  three  leather 
factories  employed  a  hundred  and  seven  men,  and  did  a  very  respectable 
business ;  two  stove  foundries  were  started ;  and  hats,  caps,  fur  goods,  soap, 
candles,  clothing,  trunks,  harness,  reapers  and  mowers  were  manufactured 
at  this  date  in  Chicago.  The  year  made  a  very  creditable  showing  in 
manufactures,  and  as  the  commencement  of  an  interest  which  is  now  the 
pride  of  the  city  and  an  object  of  universal  admiration,  it  is  regarded  with 
a  feeling  of  reverence  by  the  Chicagoan.  From  this  very  satisfactory 
beginning  manufacturing  fairly  leaped  into  greatness.  Within  three  years 
the  value  of  manufactured  articles  was  over  fifteen  million  dollars,  and 
several  thousand  operators  were  employed  in  the  manufacturing  estab- 
lishments. In  1856  the  iron  manufacturers,  in  their  standard  special- 
ties, took  the  lead,  and  the  product  is  estimated  as  worth  about  four  million 
dollars.  Unfortunately  the  next  highest  value  of  manufactures  during  1856 
was  found  in  intoxicating  drinks,  and  it  is  still  more  unfortunate  that  the 
business  of  manufacturing  liquors  is  yet  one  of  the  most  prosperous  indus- 
tries in  Chicago.  This  great  and  profitable  business,  as  men  term  it,  never 
created  a  cent  of  wealth  for  the  community  that  sustains  it,  and  never  will. 
Our  pauperism  and  crime  can  be  principally  traced  to  it;  we  have  ten 
policemen  to  every  one  that  would  be  needed  if  there  were  no  barrooms; 
we  have  a  hundred  murders  where  there  would  be  one  if  it  were  not  for 
the  trade  in  intoxicants. 

Brewing  and  distilling',  for  the  time  being,  over-capped  even  that  most 
illustrious  industry — the  manufacture  of  agricultural  instruments,  which  in 
1856  furnished  employment  for  only  about  six  hundred  workers,  and 
yielded  a  product  worth  the  modest  sum  of  one  million,  one  hundred  and 
thirty-four  thousand,  and  three  hundred  dollars;  but  at  this  writing  the  least 
informed  need  scarcely  be  told  that  the  largest  manufacturing  establish- 
ments in  Chicago  are  those  which  are  turning  out  machinery  for  the  farm. 
During  the  year  1856  there  were  manufactured  here,  a  million  dollars  worth 
of  stone  and  marble ;  over  seven  hundred  thousand  dollars  worth  of  bricks ; 
five  hundred  and  forty-three  thousand  dollars  worth  of  furniture,  and  nearly 
a  million  dollars  worth  of  stone  and  marble  manufactures. 

The  census  of  1860  gives  the  following  showing  of  the  manufacturing 
industry  of  the  whole  of  Cook  county :  four  hundred  and  sixty-nine  estab- 
lishments, with  a  capital  of  over  five  and  a  half  million  dollars,  employing 
nearly  six  thousand  workmen,  and  turning  out  a  product  of  almost  eight 
million  dollars  in  value. 

In  1870  the  government  census  report  of  the  manufactures  of  the  city, 
was  that  the  number  of  manufacturing  establishments  was  1,146;  hands 
employed,  20,156;  capital  employed,  $27,748,501;  product,  $62,736,228. 
This,  however,  came  far  short  of  the  actual  production  of  manufactures  in, 
the  city.  The  TRIBUNE  published  an  "annual  review"  for  the  year,  which 
gave  a  much  more  accurate  description  of  the  manufacturing  interests, 
although  the  list  is  not  exclusively  comprised  of  legitimate  manufactures. 
It  was  as  follows: 


es.. 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  147 

Agricultural  Implements  ............................................  $2003000 

Baking  Powder  .........................................................  »        f 

Loots  and  Shoes  ........................................................    1500000 

457856 
.....  ...:.  .........  ;  .......................................    iSooooo 

Breweries  (262,035  bbl*-)  ................................................    2620^0 

Bricks  ..................................................................      „<,£, 

Boilers  .................................................................      2  ,  .  sco 

Books,  Printing,  etc  ......................................................    ,  QQ^  ^^ 

Buildings  ........................................................  .....'.'.'  12  ooo  ooo 

Bakeries  ................................................................    1300000 

Cabinet-makers,  etc  .....................................................    x  2-»  ,gg 

Carriages  and  Wagons  ......................................  ...  ....'.'!.'.'.'    i  368  982 

Carpets  ........  .........................................................  !  3OO 

Car  wheels  and  Fixtures  .................................................       ,2g  r-^ 

Cotton  .................................................................        82  ooo 

Clothing  ........................................................  .  .......    r  ooo  QQO 

Cooperage  .........  .  ....................................................      450000 

Confectionery  ...........................................................      900  ooo 

Distillers  and  Rectifiers  .................................................    6068  221 

Flour  and  Grists  ........................................................    2  830  334 

Foundry  and  Machine  Shops  ........................    ................    o  o-~  <^, 

Fire  Safes   ......................  '.  ......................................       i\o  ooo 

Gas  ............  •  ........................................................    2  200  ooo 

Gloves,  etc  .............................................................          6  ooo 

Honey  .................................................................  7  Soo 

Hats,  Caps,  etc  .........................................................      400  ooo 

Instruments,  Musical  ...................................................       3,50  o^o 

Lanterns  ...............................................................         60  ooo 

Lead  Pipe,  efcc  ...................................................  .......     '588  400 

Leather,  Tanning,  etc  .........  .  .........................................    2  229  515 

Lightning    Rods  .....................................................  ...          8  ooo 

Lime  .........................  -  ..........................................      288  332 

Lumber  ...............................................................      800000 

Maltsters  ......................................................      347  320 

245744 

3541733 

Paints  ..................................................................  508  ooo 

Planing  Mills,  etc  .......................................................  8  928  9^9 

Picture  Frames,  etc  .....................................................  60  ooo 

Patent  Medicines  ........................................................  218800 

Provisions  ..............................................................  13  500  ooo 

Paper  Collars  ...........................................................  160  ooo 

Refrigerators  ............................................................  107  500 

Rolling  Mills  and  Forges  ................................................  2  229221 

Saws  ...................................................................  22  850 

Scales  ........  •.  .........................................................  75  ooo 

Shot  ....................................................................  2  10  ooo 

Saddles,  etc.,  and  Trunks  ................................................  388  485 

Soap  and  Candles  .......................................................  334  400 

Ship  Carpentry  .........................................................  216  ooo 

Steam   Heaters  ........................................................  90  ooo 

Stone  Cutting  ..........................................................  i  265  375 

Telegraph  Supplies  ......................................................  6  ooo 

Terra  Cotta  .............................................................  122  ooo 

Tin  and  Hardware  .......................................................  330  ooo 

Tobacco  and  Cigars  .....................................................  i  750  ooo 

Type  Foundries  .........................................................  25  ooo 

Varnish  ................................................................  445  ooo 

Vinegar  .................................................................  209  100 

Wire  Fabrics  ..........................................................  8  700 


Total $85  310  2 13 

Upon  this  spot  have  been  developed  some  of  the  most  extensive,  useful 
and  most  renowned  manufactures  in  the  world,  and  in  no»waycan  a  clearer 
idea  of  what  has  been  accomplished  in  this  direction  be  conveyed  than  by 


148  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

a  brief  notice  of  the  development  of  the  most  prominent  manufacturing 
interests  in  severally .  Among  the  first  of  these  is  the  world-renowned 
McCormick  machinery — consisting  of  reapers,  mowers  and  harvesters— "-of 
such  acknowledged  superiority  to  all  other  machinery  of  like  character 
manufactured  in  the  world,  that  at  every  world's  fair  from  that  in  London 
in  1851  to  that  in  Paris  in  1878,  it  was  awarded  the  first  prize,  events  which 
were  of  a  character  not  only  gratifying  to  the  McCormicks,  but  also  to 
Chicago. 

In  retrospectively  glancing  over  the  history  of  the  manufacture  of 
harvesting  machinery,  it  seems  almost  incredible  that  fifty  years  should 
effect  such  a  marvelous  change  in  the  manner  of  cutting  both  grain  and 
grass,  and  to-day  we  can  scarcely  imagine  how  our  predecessors  ever 
managed  to  raise  and  harvest  enough  for  the  support  of  their  own  house- 
holds, considering  the  primitive  means  they  employed  to  till  the  soil  and 
gather  their  products.  Consider  for  an  instant  the  plow,  the  harrow,  the 
flail,  the  reap-hook  and  the  scythe  of  fifty  years  ago,  in  comparison  with 
the  sulky  plow,  the  grain  drill,  the  thresher  and  separator,  the  mower, 
and  the  harvester  and  self-binder  of  the  present  day,  and  behold  what  a 
wondrous  stride  has  been  made  in  the  results  which  now  one  man's  labor  • 
is  able  to  achieve. 

Fifty  years  ago  the  McCormick  machine  was  but  a  rude  experiment, 
manufactured  in  a  small  log  work  shop,  on  the  old  McCormick  homestead 
farm,  in  Rockbridge  county,  Virginia.  To-day  the  McCormick  reaper 
works  are  among  the  largest  manufacturing  establishments  in  the  world ;  and 
wherever  grain  or  grass  is  a  part  of  the  commercial  product  of  any  country, 
these  implements  are  found  indispensable  to  the  agricultural  community. 

From  1831  to  1845  a  limited  number  of  McCormick  reapers  were  built 
each  year,  in  shops  on  the  old  homestead  farm,  and  were  much  improved 
in  construction  as  a  familiarity  with  the  requisites  for  success  became  more 
and  more  understood.  Not,  however,  until  1845-6  did  they  begin  to  be- 
come generally  known ;  during  those  two  years  they  were  manufactured  at 
Brockport,  New  York,  and  in  1847  both  at  Chicago,  Illinois,  and  Cincin- 
nati, Ohio;  since  1848  they  have  been  built  in  this  city  exclusively. 

From  a  capacity  for  the  production  of  about  five  hundred  machines  in 
1847,  their  shops  were  extended  and  enlarged,  until  at  the  time  of  the 
great  Chicago  fire  of  October  9th  and  loth,  1871,  they  were  capable  of 
producing,  when  taxed  to  their  utmost,  ten  thousand  machines  per  year. 
Their  entire  works,  machinery  and  stock  of  material  having  been  totally 
destroyed  by  the  fire  of  1871,  they  decided  upon  the  removal  of  their 
location,  from  the  old  situation  near  the  mouth  of  the  Chicago  river — 
which  is  now  very  near  the  heart  of  the  great  city — to  their  present  site, 
corner  of  Western  and  Blue  Island  avenues.  Immediately  after  the  fire 
they  erected  temporary  sheds  upon  their  old  site,  into  which  they  moved 
in  February,  1872,  and  there  manufactured  three  thousand  machines  for 
that  season's  trade.  The  latter  part  of  July,  1872,  they  broke  ground  for 
the  foundation  of  their  present  works,  and  they  were  all  completed  and 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 


149 


occupied  by  the  first  of  the  following  February;  and  within  their  walls 
they  manufactured  and  completed,  for  the  season  of  1873,  over  ten  thousand 
reaping  and  mowing  machines. 

Their  present  works  are  located  at  the  corner  of  Western  and  Blue 
Island  avenues,  being  in  the  extreme  southwestern  portion  of  the  city, 
where  they  have  all  the  advantages  and  facilities  afforded  by  direct  railroad 
connection  with  every  railway  that  runs  into  Chicago,  so  that  they  receive, 
in  their  own  yard,  on  board  cars,  most  of  the  material  that  comes  to  them 
over  the  railroad  lines;  and  their  machines  are  shipped,  without  ever  beino- 
loaded  upon  a  wagon,  from  their  works  to  all  parts  of  the  world.  They 
can  load  as  many  as  seventeen  cars  from  their  platform  atone  time;  and  in 
the  shipping  season,  the  machines  taken  away  from  their  works  each  day 
comprise  a  train  load  by  themselves.  The  South  Branch  of  the  Chicago 
river  affords  them  twelve  hundred  and  sixty-nine  feet  of  dockage,  where 
vessels,  bringing  them  lumber  and  iron,  unload  the  same  upon  their  own 
premises. 

The  entire  area  of  grounds  comprises  twenty-two  acres,  about  three 
acres  of  which  are  covered  by  buildings;  the  balance  is  used  for  railroad 
tracks,  lumber  yards,  and  for  the  storage  of  coal,  coke,  charcoal,  pig  iron, 
and  other  articles  required  to  be  in  easy  access  of  the  factory.  The  different 
manufacturing  buildings  are  located  in  the  shape  of  a  rectangle,  having  a 
frontage  to  the  north  and  south  of  three  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  and  to  the 
east  and  west  of  four  hundred  and  sixty  feet,  and  contain  a  floor  surface  of 
almost  seven  acres.  The  main  building,  occupying  the  north  and  west 
fronts,  is  five  stories  high  (including  the  basement),  and  sixty  feet  in  width, 
comprising  ten  rooms,  one  hundred  and  thirty  by  sixty;  five  rooms  one 
hundred  by  ninety;  and  fifteen  rooms  one  hundred  by  sixty  feet.  The 
wood-working,  the  iron-working  and  finishing,  the  painting  and  varnish- 
ing, and  the  storage  departments  are  all  situated  in  this  main  building.  The 
east  front  is  occupied  by  the  foundry  and  core  room,  a  building  two  hundred 
and  forty-five  by  ninety  feet,  with  a  truss  roof,  forty-five  feet  high,  and  a 
cupola  building  fifty  by  forty  feet,  three  stories  high. 

In  the  center  of  the  court  is  a  building,  forty  by  two  hundred  and 
seventy  feet,  three  stories  high,  with  a  cellar  which  is  used  for  the  repair 
department,  as  well  as  departments  for  milling  and  cleaning  castings,  sickle 
making  and  grinding,  canvas  apron  manufacturing,  brass  casting,  and 
japanning. 

Between  the  center  building  and  the  west  wing  is  situated  the  engine 
and  boiler  house,  forty  by  sixty  feet — with  a  smoke  stack  one  hundred  and 
sixty-three  feet  high — within  which  is  a  vertical  condensing  engine  of  three 
hund/ed  horse  power,  which  drives  the  machinery  of  the  entire  establish- 
ment, being  supplied  with  steam  from  five  locomotive  (or  flue)  boilers, 
each  eighteen  feet  long  and  five  feet  in  diameter.  The  entire  works  are 
heated  by  steam  in  the  Winter  time  by  two  of  these  boilers. 

On  the  south  front  of  the  rectangle  is  the  blacksmith  shop,  sixty  by 
one  hundred  and  sixty  feet,  with  a  truss  roof  thirty-six  feet  high,  where 


i  ^o  CHICAGO  AND  ITS   DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

bolt  and  forging  machinery,  drop  and  trip  hammers,  furnaces  and  black- 
smith fires  are  engaged  converting  raw  iron  and  steel  into  the  multiform 
shapes  required  in  manufacturing  the  various  McCormick  machines. 

In  the  various  departments  of  these  extensive  works  they  employ  a  great 
multiplicity  of  machinery,  embracing  the  iriost  improved  wood  and  iron- 
working  machines  of  the  present  day,  which  turn  out  an  infinite  variety  of 
the  very  best  finished  work  that  the  demands  of  the  times  require.  They 
have  constantly  at  work  from  five  to  seven  hundred  employees  in  the  different 
branches  of  these  works,  embracing  blacksmiths,  machinists,  lathe  men, 
carpenters,  pattern  makers,  molders,  painters,  laborers,  and  foremen  of  the 
various  departments;  and  in  some  seasons  of  the  year  they  work  a  double 
force,  keeping  their  factory  going  both  night  and  day.  Many  of  these  men 
have  been  with  them  for  twenty,  and  some  for  even  thirty  years.  With 
their  present  facilities  C.  H.  &  L.  J.  McCormick  can  turn  out  twenty-five 
thousand  machines  a  year  as  easily  as  they  could  ten  thousand  at  their  old 
works. 

The  Scoville  Iron  Works,  which  were  originated  by  Hiram  H.  Scoville, 
and  are  now  owned  and  managed  by  his  son  who  bears  his  name,  are  one  of 
the  oldest  and  most  extensive  establishments  of  the  kind  in  the  West.  The 
large  business  of  this  establishment  consists  of  the  manufacture  of  pile  driv- 
ing engines,  over  head  traveling  engines,  derricks  and  general  machinery, 
including  mining  machinery  of  all  kinds.  These  works  are  situated  at 
number  21  North  Clinton  street,  and  an  account  of  their  origin  and  de- 
velopment is  more  fully  detailed  in  the  sketch  of  their  founder's  life  and 
in  that  of  Hiram  H.  Sco-ville,  Jr. — his  successor— which  appear  at  the  close 
of  this  chapter. 

At  Grand  Crossing,  a  suburb,  is  located  the  extensive  Wilson  Sewing 
Machine  factory,  and  the  headquarters  of  the  company  being  in  the  city, 
the  industry  can  be  legitimately  claimed  as  belonging  to  Chicago.  This 
company  established  itself  in  this  location  a  few  years  since,  purchasing  a 
building  formerly  erected,  and  for  a  time  occupied  by  a  watch  manufactur- 
ing company.  The  Wilson  sewing  machine  enjoys  a  merited  popularity, 
and  the  business  of  manufacturing  it  is,  therefore,  very  large,  furnishing 
employment  to  an  army  of  employees.  The  industry  being  a  Western 
one,  Western  people  point  to  it  as  an  element  of  manufacturing  progress, 
and  Chicago  may  be  excused  for  manifesting  considerable  enthusiasm 
over  it. 

The  Pullman  Palace  Car  Company  has  also  selected  Chicago  as  the 
place  for  building  their  celebrated  cars.  In  one  of  the  suburbs  they  are 
now  engaged  in  erecting  mammoth  buildings,  and  the  industry  will  attract 
so  many  people  that  it  will  create  a  town  of  itself. 

On  the  corner  of  Canal  and  Lake  streets  is  a  massive  and  capacious 
structure  which  is  contemplated  with  considerable  interest  by  the  iron  trade 
of  the  country,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  in  office  and  storage  capacity, 
special  appointments,  and  architectural  conveniences,  and  shipping  and 
carrying  facilities,  it  makes  Chicago  the  site  of  the  model  iron  warehouse  of 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  151 

the  United  States.  The  Northwest  is  now  a  nation  of  itself,  and  Chicago 
being  the  mercantile  and  shipping  metropolis  of  the  whole  western  half 
of  our  big  continent,  it  is  a  matter  alike  of  necessity,  interest  and  ambition, 
to  extend  to  the  traffic  of  such  an  empire  a  line  of  accommodations  that  shall 
be  of  a  corresponding  magnitude.  Messrs.  Jones  &  Laughlins,  whose  old 
quarters  on  the  corner  of  Canal  and  Jackson  streets  have  long  constituted 
the  base  and  center  of  the  general  Northwestern  traffic  in  heavy  iron  and 
steel  merchandise — with  an  important  bearing  on  the  commerce  of  the 
nation  in  the  great  items  of  bar  and  sheet-iron,  patent  cold-rolled  shafting, 
light  T  rail,  machine  bolts,  screws,  rivets,  nails,  anvils,  steel,  and  general 
mechanical  hardware  outfits — have  erected  a  building  for  their  own  occu- 
pancy, and  have  moved  in  with  a  stock  about  double  the  largest 
accommodation  of  the  old  house.  A  single  feature  of  the  new  edifice  is 
a  railroad  track  arrangement  for  the  entrance  and  shelter,  loading  and  un- 
loading, of  half  a  dozen  cars  at  once — the  shipping  and  handling  facilities 
presenting  a  magnificent  item  of  economy — enabling  them  to  sell,  it  is  said, 
at  about  Eastern  prices.  Messrs.  Jones  &  Laughlins  are  proprietors  of  the 
American  Iron  Works,  Pittsburgh,  Pennsylvania,  with  their  three  thousand 
hands,  and  thirty-five  acres  under  roof.  The  indications  are  that  Chicago  will 
now  become  a  main  point  of  outlet  and  distribution  of  the  product  of  those 
Titan  works.  The  dimensions  of  the  new  building  are  one  hundred  and 
twenty-one  thousand  and  -.  five  hundred  superficial  feet,  with  a  special  sec- 
tion of  eleven  thousand  square  feet,  by  way  of  a  one  story  addition  for  the 
storage  of  bar  iron  and  bar  steel  "on  end."  The  largest  frontage  is  on  Canal 
street,  where  it  extends  from  Lake  street  the  comfortable  walking  distance 
of  two  hundred  and  seventy  feet.  The  receipts  of  the  establishment 
average  from  six  to  twelve  car  loads  a  day. 

The  Prosser  Twin  Cylinder  Car  Company  is  located  at  26  Henry 
street,  and  are  the  owners  and  manufacturers  of  the  Prosser  twin  cylinder 
car.  This  car  is  composed  of  two  large  cylinders,  which  hold  grain,  and 
revolve  upon  the  ordinary  track.-  It  is  claimed  for  these  cars  that  they 
are  cheaper;  lighter;  more  durable;  occupy  less  space  on  the  rail;  are  of 
easier  draft;  will  not  laminate  the  track;  may  be  run  at  greater  speed; 
that  they  lower  the  center  of  gravity;  reduce  the  windage  of  the  train; 
remove  the  weight  of  load  from  the  axle;  require  less  oil,  less  attention 
and  less  parts;  can  dry  wet  grain  in  the  car,  and  prevent  it  from  heating, 
souring  or  molding,  while  in  transit;  are  less  liable  to  jump  the  track;  are 
better  adapted  to  run  grades  and  crossings;  are  easier  controlled  by  t.he 
engine  in  starting  and  stopping;  require  less  lateral  motion,  have  less 
oscillation,  are  steadier  on  the  track,  and  are  less  liable  to  be  thrown 
off  by  a  broken  rail  or  in  running  curves;  are  easier  on  the  journals,  on 
the  car,  and  on  the  road ;  are  safer  for  the  engineer,  for  the  conductor  and 
for  the  brakeman;  are  especially  adapted  to  the  transit  of  grain  and  can 
carry  more  of  it  a  greater  distance  for  a  less  amount  of  money  and  power 
than  by  any  other  way  yet  known. 

And  as  a  laro-e  number  of  these  claims  are  self-evident  to  those  skilled 


152  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

in  mechanics,  their  great  importance  is  conceded  at  once,  while  nearly  all 
of  the  others  have  been  practically  demonstrated  by  experiment  to  be  in 
accord  with  the  claims  heretofore  set  forth. 

Therefore,  with  such  an  array  of  facts  in  its  favor,  is  it  not  reasonable 
to  conclude  that  a  revolution  in  the  cost  and  mode  of  transporting  grain 
must  be  effected  by  the  practical  introduction  and  use  of  the  Prosser  Twin 
Cylinder  Car?  And  as  hundreds  of  millions  of  bushels  of  grain  are 
annually  transported  from  the  great  West  to  the  seaboard,  it  follows  that 
a  saving  of  but  a  single  penny  per  bushel,  will  in  the  aggregate  amount 
to  millions  of  dollars;  consequently,  any  improvement  in  this  direction 
must  be  of  great  value  not  only  to  the  railroad's  interest  but  also  to  the 
producer  and  consumer,  thus  benefiting  all. 

For  many  years  effort  has  been  made  to  devise  cheap  and  practical 
means  for  the  prevention  of  the  heating  of  grain  and  for  the  drying  of 
damp  grain,  and  much  time;  labor  and  money  have  been  expended  to  that 
end.  From  one  cause  and  another,  however,  failure  to  achieve  a  satis- 
factory result  has  been  the  almost  universal  ending  of  such  attempts.  The 
process  was  either  defective  or  too  expensive,  and  disappointment  after 
disappointment  was  experienced.  There  are  establishments  in  which 
grain  is  "doctored,"  and  made  to  appear  as  a  superior  grade  to  what  it  was 
when  taken  hold  of  by  the  "physicians;"  but  appearances  do  not  answer 
the  demand.  Any  process  for  drying  grain,  if  successful,  must  really 
make  it  superior.  The  grain  must  not  be  injured  in  appearance  or  quality. 

Some  years  ago  Oliver  Holden,  a  practical  mechanical  engineer, 
invented  a  machine,  which  he  began  to  manufacture  in  Chicago,  and 
which  seemed  to  be  all  that  was  required  to  successfully  dry  any  cereal 
without  injury  to  it.  This  machine  consisted  of  two  funnel  shaped  cylinders, 
about  thirty  feet  long,  the  outer  one  being  five  feet  in  diameter  at  the 
larger  end  and  three  feet  at  the  smaller,  and  the  inner  having  a  diameter 
of  about  three  feet  at  the  larger  end  and  three-fifths  of  that  diameter  at 
the  smaller.  On  the  inside  of  the  larger  cylinder  shelves  were  attached, 
running  the  entire  length.  The  inner  cylinder  is  filled  with  steam,  which 
is  confined,  the  condensation  being  drawn  off  by  a  syphon.  The  two 
cylinders,  being  affixed  to  each  other  at  the  ends,  both  revolve  at  the  same 
time  and  in  the  same  direction.  The  grain  enters  at  the  small  end  of  the 
machine,  is  taken  up  upon  the  shelves  before  mentioned,  and  precipitated 
upon  the  hot  inner  cylinder,  and  is  then  again  picked  up  by  the  shelves 
to  be  raised  and  precipitated  again,  this  process  continuing  until  the  grain 
is  carried  out  at  the  large  end  of  the  machine. 

A  company  was  subsequently  formed  for  the  manufacture  of  the 
apparatus,  but  the  exact  or  even  the  approximate  extent  of  their  business 
is  not  known. 

The  following  statement  shows  the  number  of  establishments  of 
productive  industry,  with  their  capital,  number  of  employes,  wages  paid, 
value  of  material  and  value  of  product  for  the  year  ending  May  3ist,  1880, 
in  the  city  of  Chicago  and  the  adjoining  towns  of  Hyde  Park,  Lake,  and 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS   DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 


'53 


Lake  View,  as  developed  under  the  direction  of  the  United  States  Census 
Office,  and   includes  all   such  industries,  except  distilling   and  brewin°-: 


CHARACTER  OF  BUSINESS. 

Number  of  es- 
tablishments. 

1 
'E, 
• 

O 

Greatest  num- 
ber of  hands. 

Men  employed. 

E 

'     WT3 

c  5» 

OJ    >> 

c.2 

o  o« 

12 

Iron  works  rolled,  cast  and  wrought  

5* 

*4 

64 

15 
H 
5 
6 

4 
9 

4 
6 

12 

16 

7 
98 

34 
92 

5 
i5 
4 

10 

6 

H7 
J59 

58 
163 

5° 
15 
6 

5 
10 
62 

21 

131 
202 
40 
10 
II 

99 

21 

15 
12 

16 

72 

94 
23 
29 
ii 
6 

9 

8 

29 
291 
C 

$  7  289617 

5H7co 
940  loo 
88600 
4456oo 
45  500 
105  650 
78  ooo 
118  ooo 
51400 
44800 
140  600 
4  320  662 
192  650 
940  375 
399  872 
123  701 
32  loo 
14400 
27  500 
30650 

296  200 
H0975 
i  546  235 

2  232   101 
2  949  125 
380690 

iO  900 

154  §00 
3!  OOO 

4510 
3i956o 

2  414000 
997  °75 

6  53°  275 
692  850 
1  3  950 
1  65  5°° 
7o7  50i 
1499°° 
48  650 
6i;2  ico 
870  200 
8464900 
465  950 
7s  959 
455  250 
So79°° 
176  200 
ioo  600 
3x,25o 

426  900 

825  300 

6  700 

6801 
i  049 
i  282 
424 
614 

77 
1  68 

245 

IOO 

79 
29 
249 

4925 
322 
i  978 

474 
631 

H 

5° 

77 

220 

'  455 

2   IIO 

4  406 
6  170 
i  200 
87 
123 
36 
42 
953 
i  579 

2   IOO 
II  808 

2   IOS 

79 
233 
4°57 
982 
185 
187 
238 

12  891 
762 

186 
900 
328 
217 
236 
42 

914 
2553 
g 

6  125 
811 
i  042 

2IO 

530 

64 
117 
198 

58 

74 
26 
140 
4323 
'53 
i  215 

34i 
352 
58 
30 
38 
68 

159 
38i 
i  606 

34i8 
4  955 
834 
66 

41 
29 
23 
716 
i  282 
i  266 
4605 
213 
29 

Si 

246 

74 

IO 

167 
226 
7  198 
575 
129 
362 
^  215 
no 
176 
33 

284 
i  702 

7 

Steam  engines  and  boilers  

Miscellaneous  machinery  

26 

Galvanized  and  corrugated  iron  

Brass  and  copper  works  

Carriage,  wagon,  and  car  springs.  ....... 

Cutlery  and  edge  tools  and  grinding  same  . 
Steam  heating  apparatus  

Hot-air  furnaces  

Scales  and  scale  repairing  

Saws  and  saw  repairing  

Miscellaneous  hardware  

I 

5 

Bridges  and  railroad  stock  and  repairing.  . 
Building  and  repairing  vessels  and  boats.  . 
Tin  and  sheet  iron  work  

150 

8 

2 
I 

Wire  goods  and  barbed  wire  fence  

Plumbino"  and  gas  and  steam  fitting  

Gas  fixtures,  machines,  and  meters  

Lock  and  gunsmiths  

Iron  shutters  and  doors  and  vault  doors.  . 
Miscellaneous  tools,  fixtures,  and  supplies. 
Electrical,  photographic,  and  telephone  in- 
struments and  supplies  

26 

Blacksmithing  and  horseshoeing  

Carriage  and  wagon  making  and  repairing. 
Planing  mills  and  sash,  door,  and  box  mak- 
ing         

35 

r4 
69 

39 

Furniture  of  all  kinds  

Moldings  and  picture  frames  

Patterns  and  models  

Cigac  boxes  

44 

Bungs,  plugs,  and  wooden  faucets  

Wood  turning  and  wood  carving  

Cooperage,  cisterns  and  tanks.    

Tannin^  and  currying  

99 
357 
5919 
i  812 

22 

149 

2757 

543 
149 

2 

Boots  and  shoes  

Men's  clothin""  

Men's  furnishing  goods  

Men's  hats  and  caps  

Furs  

Straw  goods,  millinery,  and  ladies'  wear.  . 
Knit  goods,  Cloves,  and  mittens  

Hair  goods  

Flouring  mills     

Malting  

Slaughtering  and  meat  packin<T  

Bakeries  

I24 

44 
178 
40 
88 

i 

73 
366 

Confectionery  and  bakeries  

Confectioner  v,  ice  cream,  and  catering.  .  . 
Coffee  and  spice  mills  

Baking  and  yeast  powders  and  extracts.  .  . 
Soda  and  mineral  waters,  etc  

Root  beer  and  bitters  and  bottling  beer.  .  . 
Vinegar,  pickles,  sauces,  canned  goods,  and 
farinaceous  preparations  

Tobacco  and  cigars  

Pines.  .  . 

!54 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS   DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 


CHARACTER  OF  BUSINESS. 

Number  of  es- 
tablishments. 

jjj 

'5< 

i 

U 

Greatest  num- 
ber of  hands. 

Men  employed. 

a 

CTD 

C    ^ 

%  o" 
o"3< 

Harness,  saddlery,  whips,  whip-lashes,  anc 
horse  clothing.                 

85 
39 

122 

44 

21 
121 
6 

6 
4 
'7 
43 
9 
15 

12 
IO 

J3 
II 

41 

20 
II 

16 
5 
16 
6 

16 
5 
9 
40 

7 

4 

6 

47 
15 
16 

7 
9 

22 
21 

35 
51 

168 

5 

12 

7 
16 

15 
126 

$       219  550 
I  295  400 
i  979  300 

718  775 

i  797  500 
215401 
i  293  800 
117  ooo 

630500 
98350 

i  149  ooo 

385  700 

I  140  800 

155  ooo 

38300 

116  200 
107  750 

243  200 

62  610 

78  200 

130  TOO 

I  275 

1  68  350 

2775 

161  ooo 
179650 
24  800 

125  150 
52  500 
65  250 
39600 
181  625 
101  950 
61  850 

31  50° 

24  35° 
151  900 
339  250 
348800 
272  900 

437  340 
14  ooo 

184521 

19  ooo 

3i  7°5 
459000 
13  609  701 

811 
i  295 

3532 
960 

574 
1783 
589 
149 

294 
15* 
1  88 
231 
611 
231 
159 
430 
223 
599 
J59 

439 
313 

8 

365 
i3 

601 
1x8 

52 
263 

131 
i59 
106 

255 
258 

121 

61 

155 

296 
979 
i  495 

4  252 
2  864 

'47 

278 

74 
189 

i  594 

4  182 

357 
i  068 
2  031 
628 

434 
879 

454 
in 

2IO 

81 

158 

176 

387 

213 

87 

77 
I25 
271 
1  06 

177 
181 
6 
104 
9 

491 
166 

33 

182 

84 
"5 

76 

139 
207 

57 

36 
109 

212 
676 
I   201 
1978 
I   809 
64 
217 

60 

tax 

748 
2923 

ls5 

65 

654 
117 

23 
i 
40 

Newspaper  publications  

Job  printing,  book-binding,  and  publishing 
Engraving,lithographing,printers'supplies 
Linseed  oil,  white  lead,  paints,  varnish,  lead 
pipe,  and  shot             

Painting.  . 

Lard  oil,  oleomargarine  and  stearine  

Rendering  and  bone-boiling  

Axle-grease  and  glue              

77 
13 
i 

38 
24 

Dye-works  and  dves  

Rectifying  and  compounding  of  spirits.  .  . 
Chemicals  

Soaps  ...                                 

Irunks,  valises,  and  traveling  bags  

Fancy  leather  and  rubber  goods  

63 

237 

Paper  boxes  and  bags             

Baskets  willow  and  rattan  ware  

.Brooms,  brushes  and  dusters  

148 
3i 

J52 

63 

i 
118 

Upholstery,  carriage  trimming,  etc  

Paper  hanging,  draperies,  window  shades 
and  carpet   makin^         

Mattresses  and  beddin"     

Carpet  weaving                '  

Sails,  tents,  awnings,  etc  

Umbrellas  and  parasols          .... 

Sewing  machines,  attachments  and  furni- 
ture   

5 

12 

3 
ii 

Burial  cases  and  undertakers'  goods.  .  .  .*. 
Gold,  silver,  ard  nickel  plating  

Jewelry,  watch  cases,repairing  watches,etc. 
Gold,  bronze  and  metal  frames  

Show  cases  and  metal  and  glass  signs.  .  .  . 
Stained  and  ornamental  glass  

3 
*      i 
62 

Photography  

Musical  instruments     

Perfumery  and  medicinal  preparations.  .  . 
Artificial     limbs,     deformity     appliances, 
trusses,  dental  supplies,  etc  

42 

22 

Terra  cotta  and  plaster  work  

Marble  works   

Stone  cutting                           .      . 

Brick  making                   

J3 

Masonry  buildin°"     

Carpenters  and  builders  

I 

Plasterers  

Roofing  material  and  roofing   

Vault   and  sidewalk    lights,    iron    railing, 

Sewer  building                 ...        

Street  paving,  dock  building  and  dredging. 
Other  establishments  

357 

Totals  for  the  city  of  Chicago  

3683 
17 
38 
H 

$77  724  652 
i  966  ooo 
984  600 
1  6  850 

11081967  160 

i  694    i  228 
9!3       548 
Si         56 

15718 
28 
3 

5 

Town  of  Hyde  Park   

Grand  total  

3752 

580  692   IO2 

11350768992 

15  754 

CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 


'55 


CHARACTER  OF  BUSINESS. 

y 

1  = 

3  c: 

fi" 

B* 
> 

3 
1 

• 
B 

tuo 
ft 

* 

Value  of  mate- 
rial. 

i 

s, 

<«-  c/5 
0  u 

<U  3 
3 

75 

Iron  works,  rolled,  cast  and  wrought.  .  .  . 
Steam  engines  and  boilers  

241 

22 

3° 

12 

$  305903C 
414  940 
589  076 
125  215 
236  585 
3674C 
59800 
98  coo 

29762 
36740 
18283 
76033 

2   187  135 
85  220 
596  26. 

154  789 
2O6  89^ 
2632; 
I438I 
19270 
26  705 

"3503 

204  592 
806766 

I   531    103 
2  314699 
358  297 

33  005 
36268 

12  620 
12742 

3"  307 
710  080 
769  80  1 

3  475  769 
506870 
25  326 
53  458 
693  544 
120340 
26  132 
105  326 
1  08  709 
33985i6 

325  835 
65  866 

243  034 
147496 
70864 
75  850 

12  870 

149  429 
783  720 
3050 

178383 
834  685 

$  ii  275815 
i  016  ooc 
939  3°7 

260  20C 

336  520 

151  ooo 
42  150 

392  750 
52  107 

151  ooo 

12  300 

I05  i?5 
5  373  752 
59980 
i  672  224 
906086 
270  968 
60  109 

9  155 
29  950 
29  920 

149  837 
J33  149 
869  581 

6  395  622 
3412631 
644300 

7  25i 
f  14  090 
13  200 

f  5  337 
637  480 
4  128  500 

1  37°  993 
ii  682  764 
i  386  952 

31  5°° 
232  ooo 
i  898  177 

44i  55i 
65  300 
i  937  609 
i  583  019 
70  719  839 
i  600898 
201  380 

i  497  350 
2  372021 
789  500 
162  500 
47600 

907  785 

2  065   IO3 

3  025 

4°4  575 
885  901 

$  15  673  624 
i  617073 
2  160  074 

475  4°° 
751  700 

222   500 
I5O  9OO 

533  230 

1  10  200 
222  500 

43  500 

272  133 

8  030  398 
190  850 

2  946  842 

I  341  860 
594  812 
130  800 
39094 
60  810 
89524 

567  630 
484  619 

2  346  46l 

8  981  281 
7  i  88  278 
i  326  085 
62  522 
179411 
34600 

3i  51.5 
i  121  594 
5  637  coo 
2  478  116 
17  423  607 

2  279  464 

79700 
378  500 

3  I07  94i 
640  882 

J35  9»5 
2  217  564 
i  960  780 
8  1  570070 
2  270  036 
306  050 

2  IO2  095 

2  868  879 
I  036  500 

344600 

no  550 

I  381  761 
3  701  762 
14  200 

743  "6 
2  538  199 

Miscellaneous  machinery  

Galvanized  and  corrugated  iron  

Brass  and  copper  works  

Carriage,  wagon,  and  car  springs.  ...... 

I 
1 

I 

Cutlery  and  edge  tools  and  grinding  same. 
Steam  heating  apparatus  

1  lot-air  furnaces  

Scales  and  scale  repairing  

Saws  and  saw  repairin°r  

Miscellaneous  hardware  

46 

63 

Bridges  and  railroad  stock  and  repairing.  . 
Building  and  repairing  vessels  and  boats.  . 

Tin  and  sheet  iron  work  

250 
74 
25 
i 
i 

Wire  goods  and  barbed  wire  fence.  .  .    . 

Pluinbincr  and  gas  and  steam  fitting  

Gas  fixtures,  machines,  and  meters  

Lock  and  gunsmiths  

Iron  shutters  and  doors  and  vault  doors.  . 

Miscellaneous  tools,  fixtures,  and  supplies. 
Electrical,  photographic,  and  telephone  in- 
struments and  supplies  

3 

4 

2 
135 

376 
448 
I84 

Blacksmithinf  and  horseshoeing  

Carriage  and  wagon  making  and  repairing. 
Planing  mills  and  sash,  door,  and  box  mak- 
ins?  . 

Furniture  of  all  kinds  

Moldings  and  picture  frames  

Patterns  and  models  

23 

6 
6 
30 
30 
46 

415 
49 

7 

2 

J35 
40 
i 

2 

Bungs  plu^s  and  wooden  faucets  

Wood  turning  and  wood  carving  

Cooperage,  cisterns  and  tanks  

Tannin0'  and  currying  

Boots  and  shoes   

Men's  clothinf  

Men's  furnishing  goods  

Men's  hats  and  caps   

Furs                  

Straw  goods,  millinery,  and  ladies'  wear.  . 
Knit  goods,  gloves,  and  mittens  

Hair  goods.        

Flouring  mills  

Malting  

Slaughtering  and  meat  packing  

298 
22 
8 
I32 

45 
7 
6 
i 

36 
128 
i 

39 
I 

Bakeries  

•Confectionery  and  bakeries  

Confectionery,  ice  cream,  and  catering.  .  . 
Coffee  and  spice  mills  

Baking  and  yeast  powders  and  extracts.  .  . 
Soda  and  mineral  waters,  etc  

Root  beer  and  bitters  and  bottling  beer.  .  . 
Vinegar,  pickles,  sauces,  canned  goods,  and 
farinaceous  preparations  

Tobacco  and  cigars  

Pipes  

Harness,  saddlery,  whips,  whip-lashes,  and 

Newspaper  publications  

'56 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS   DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 


CHARACTER  OF  BUSINESS. 

Youth  under 
1  6  years. 

12 

°« 

D, 

• 

<u 
be 

rt 
£ 

Value  of  mate- 
rial. 

•6 
p 

CU 

<*«  / 
S-8 

1)   3 

"rt 
> 

Job  printing,  book-binding,  and  publishing 
Engraving,lithographing,printers'supplies. 
Linseed  oil,  white  lead,  paints,  varnish,  lead 
pipe,  and  shot           

297 
149 

IS 

II 

$    I  315  383 
390661 

279  058 
460  716 
235  910 
64  044 
1  06  50O 
50778 

95  34  1 
90725 
187  292 

102    170 
41    170 

93  55° 
48750 
133590 
50373 

!37  655 
87491 
i  700 
98  485 

2  516 

166  612 
67  020 
18645 
146  570 
48  620 
66  776 

47  545 
101  388 

122  2O9 
38378 

22  OOO 

35929 
109  722 
346  292 

450  957 
897409 
888  746 

37463 
70  oio 

33462 
5586o 
383696 
i  713  609 

$     i  863  534 
327  044 

4  089  695 
434  832 
5  826  500 
i  123  ooo 
321  737 
63815 

4473411 
598  050 

2  910  047 

295  7°° 
133   190 
391  400 

54225 

271  337 
i5335i 

500  ooo 

183  TOO 

1  743 
335  672 

2   IOO 

209  285 
164500 
9720 
97917 
32  700 

122  775 
38  564 
8  1  885 
207  228 
165  250 

29  200 
15  021 
228  940 
354325 
"5873 
I  808  550 
I   324990 
37000 
396  327 

57  M4 
79  016 

777  576 
5  59  1  899 

$    4  "6  577 
i  117  616 

5  295  H4 
i  126  509 
6508800 
i  327000 
658  ooo 

177  461 

5  024  220 
885600 
3  367  3Jo 
498  ooo 

212  249 

579  792 
1  20  400- 
5i7  322 
264  755 

762  089 
47  *  508 
6  150 
526  864 
7  600 

519468 
290  600 
58700. 
405  202 
112032 
254  ioa 
113  612 
325  978 
4T5  I25 
285  33» 

90  800 
77399 
443563 
831  142 
790400 

2  902  638 
2  585  480 
91  984 
54s  931 

116  485 
1  60  932 
1  397  501 
9  137  650- 

Painting  

Lard  oil  oleomargarine  and  stearine  

Rendering  and  bone-boiling  

Axle-grease  and  glue   

7 
6 

Dye-works  and  dyes  

Rectifying  and  compounding  of  spirits.  .  . 

Chemicals  

10 

74 
10 
i 

34 
10 

44 

7 

20 
20 

Soaps  ....                         

Trunks,  valises,  and  traveling  bags  

Fancy  leather  and  rubber  goods  

Paper  boxes  and  bags          

Baskets,  willow  and  rattan  ware  

Brooms,  brushes  and  dusters  

Upholstery,  carriage  trimming,  etc. 

Paper  hanging,  draperies,  window  shades 
and  carpet   making     

Mattresses  and  beddinf  

Carpet  weaving  

Sails,  tents,  awnings,  etc  

IO 
I 

37 
i 
6 
49 
3 

IO 

3 
6 

22 
5 

Umbrellas  and  parasols     

Sewing  machines,  attachments  and  furni- 
ture   

Burial  cases  and  undertakers'  goods  
Gold,  silver,  and  nickel  plating  

Jewelry,watch  cases,repairing  watches,etc. 
Gold,  bronze  and  metal  frames  

Show  cases  and  metal  and  glass  signs.  .  .  . 
Stained  and  ornamental  glass  

Photography  

Musical  instruments  

Perfumery  and  medicinal  preparations  .  .  . 
Artificial     limbs,     deformity     appliances, 
trusses,  dental  supplies,  etc  

Terra  cotta  and  plaster  work  

9 
4 
9 

22 

Marble  works  

Stone  cutting  

Brick  making  

Masonry  building  

Carpenters  and  builders  

10 

Plasterers  

Roofing  material  and  roofing  

Vault   and  sidewalk    lights,   iron   railing, 
grating  and  ornamental  iron  work  

Sewer  building  

I 

I 
276 

4797 
171 
26 

2 

Street  paving,  dock  building  and  dredging. 
Other  establishments  

Totals  for  the  citv  of  Chicago  

$36  659  826 
614  960 
316  820 

23775 

$178  244  570 
1  574  030 
935  026 
54080 

$248  844  125 
3  015  loo 
i  440  470 
106  ooo 

Town  of  Hyde  Park  

Town  of  Lake  

Town  of  Lake  View  

Grand  total  

4996 

$37  615  381 

$180  807  706 

$253  405  695 

The  manufacture  of  oleomargarine  and  butterine  which  is  mentioned 
in  the  above  tables,  is  among  those  enterprises  which  do  not  reflect  much 

CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  157 

credit  upon  a  city  in  which  they  are  carried  on.  As  the  reader  is  doubtless 
aware,  oleomargarine  and  butterine  are  the  names  given  to  imitation  butter, 
the  former  being  made  by  mixing  butter  with  caul  fat,  and  the  latter  by  mix- 
ing butter  with  the  fat  expressed  from  leaf  lard,  both  products  being  colored 
and  flavored  to  bear  a  close  resemblance  to  genuine  butter.  Microscopical 
and  chemical  examinations  have  demonstrated  that  these  compounds  are 
liable  to  be  exceedingly  filthy,  and  that  they  contain  living  animalcule, 
which  are  threatening  in  appearance,  and  which  the  best  authorities  be- 
lieve to  be  inimical  to  health  and  life.  When  we  consider  that  one 
oleomargarine  factory  in  the  city  of  New  York  uses  a  hundred  thousand 
pounds  of  caul  fat  per  day,  the  conclusion  that  it  is  next  to  impossible  to 
obtain  that  large  quantity  in  a  perfectly  pure  and  healthy  state,  will  be 
quickly  formed.  Few  animals  are  slaughtered  in  perfect  health.  If  they 
have  been  carefully  fed  and  cared  for,  the  hardships  of  transportation  to 
the  place  of  slaughtering,  imperfect  rest,  irregular  feeding  and  watering, 
and  the  excitement  of  the  journey  necessarily  operate  to  disarrange  the 
system,  and  cause  a  feverish  condition.  To  all  appearances  the  animal  may 
be  in  health,  and  yet  be  seriously  diseased.  But  many  of  the  animals  that 
are  slaughtered  have  no  suitable  care,  and  there  is  not  the  slightest  pre- 
tense of  bestowing  such  care.  They  are  fed  upon  the  slops  from  breweries 
and  distilleries,  and  the  condition  in  which  cattle  thus  fed  go  to  the  shambles 
is  abundantly  demonstrated  by  the  fact  that  if  they  are  fed  long  enough 
upon  this  food  they  will  become  so  horribly  diseased  that  their  teeth  fall 
out  and  their  tails  drop  off.  That  a  hundred  thousand  pounds  of  pure 
caul  fat  can  be  daily  gathered,  therefore,  is  entirely  incredible. 

But  the  lard  butter  is  still  more  dangerous.  While  the  caul  fat  used 
in  the  manufacture  of  oleomargarine  is  exposed  to  a  considerable  degree 
of  heat — although  not  to  a  degree  sufficient  to  kill  all  the  animalculae — 
the  fat  pressed  out  of  leaf  lard  for  use  in  the  manufacture  of  butterine,  is 
exposed  to  no  heat  at  all,  and  thus  every  one  who  eats  this  variety  of 
imitation  butter  is  clearly  exposed  to  the  ravages  of  trichinae.  In  answer 
to  those  who  combat  this  position  by  alleging  that  trichinae  are  not  found 
in  the  fat  but  in  the  muscle  of  swine,  it  is  only  necessary  to  say  that  there 
is  always  more  or  less  lean  meat  attached  to  leaf  lard,  and  that  in  every 
specimen  of  either  oleomargarine  or  butterine  that  we  have  had  examined 
under  the  microscope,  pieces  of  muscle  have  been  discovered. 

The  question  will  naturally  occur  to  these  who  have  thought  little 
upon  the  subject,  if  caul  fat  and  leaf  lard  are  diseased,  why  can  we  eat 
pork  and  beef  with  impunity?  The  answer  is,  that  we  thoroughly  cook 
our  meats,  and  hence  destroy  all  the  animalculae  which  may  be  in  them. 
We  do  not  cook  our  butter,  and,  therefore,  take  into  the  system  whatever 
of  animalculaB  our  butter  contains. 

So  rapidly  has  the  business  of  manufacturing  imitation  butter  increased, 
that  the  market  is  filled  with  the  vile  compounds,  which  are  sold  as  pure 
butter,  and  it  is  pretty  difficult  to  find  genuine  butter  either  on  public  or 
private  tables.  Next  to  the  liquor  traffic,  the  business  must  be  regarded 


158  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

as  the  most  unworthy  in  which  men  engage,  and  the  public  should  leave 
nothing  undone  to  compel  dealers  to  sell  such  products  for  just  what  they 
are. 

The  manufacture  of  jewelers'  or  watchmakers'  lathes  in  the  United 
States  was  commenced  in  Roxbury,  Connecticut,  about  the  year  1866  or 
1867.  This  being  the  first  departure  from  the  old  Swiss  lathe  that  had 
been  heretofore  universally  used,  it  was  necessarily  of  a  crude  design  and 
imperfect  construction.  However,  it  fulfilled  the  requirements  of  that  period 
and  partially  supplanted  its  predecessor;  but  the  rapid  advancement  made 
in  the  manufacture  of  watches  soon  suggested  improvements  in  the  tools 
for  their  production  and  opened  up  a  field  in  that  branch  of  mechanics  for 
the  study  of  the  artisan,  the  result  of  which  is  the  production  of  a  lathe 
and  its  appliances  that  are  models  of  perfection  in  design  and  workman- 
ship. 

In  December,  1879,  in  this  city,  preparations  were  begun  for  the 
manufacture  of  this  improved  lathe  and  other  tools  for  watchmakers'  use. 
Nine  men  and  a  superintendent  labored  industriously  for  some  nine 
months  to  make  the  fine  tools  necessary  to  construct  these  lathes. 
These  tools  consist  of  bench  lathes,  parallel  grinding  machine,  attach- 
ments for  taper  grinding,  standard  gauges  and  an  endless  variety  of  small 
special  tools,  all  made  with  the  greatest  accuracy. 

Fifty-five  lathes  have  already  been  placed  upon  the  market,  and  one 
hundred  and  ten  more  are  in  course  of  construction  and  well  advanced. 
The  beds  and  head  and  tail  stocks  are  made  of  a  fine  .  grade  of  cast  iron, 
free  from  sand  spots.  They  are  first  planed  and  milled,  then  ground  and 
highlv  polished  and  scraped  to  perfect  surfaces,  and  then  nickel  plated. 
The  spindles  and  bearings  are  made  of  steel;  they  are  first  cut  from  the 
bar  and  annealed;  then  bored  and  a  rough  cut  taken  off  the  outside. 
Then  they  are  again  annealed  and  rebored  and  turned  to  size,  leaving  an 
eighth  of  a  thousandth  of  an  inch  to  grind  off  from  both  spindles  and 
bearings  after  hardening,  to  make  them  an  absolute  fit.  The  pulleys  on 
the  head  spindle  for  driving  the  lathe  are  made  of  hard  rubber  and  polished 
to  resemble  ebony.  The  minor  details,  such  as  screws,  nuts,  etc.,  are 
made  of  brass  and  are  nickel  plated.  The  different  parts  being  made  to 
standard  gauges,  there  need  be  no  care  taken  to  select  them,  but  the 
required  parts  may  be  taken  promiscuously  and  put  together  to  complete 
the  lathe.  The  finest  mechanism  is  in  the  spring  chucks.  They  are  also 
made  of  steel  cut  from  the  bar  and  put  through  two  annealing  processes, 
the  same  as  the  spindles  and  bearings.  They  are  drilled  to  receive 
the  different  sizes  of  wire  used  in  watchmaking,  and  the  size  of  each 
chuck  marked  on  its  face  in  fractions  of  a  millimeter,  varying  in  size  from 
three-fortieths  to  thirty-six-fortieths  of  a  millimeter.  The  French  measure- 
ment is  used  here  because  a  great  many  French  supplies  are  used  by  the 
watchmakers  of  this  country.  These  chucks  are  first  drilled,  then  sawed 
in  three  sections  to  allow  them  to  spring  and  clamp  the  work.  They  are 
then  reamed  out  perfectly  true,  hardened  and  afterward  ground  out  with 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  159 

diamond  powder,  highly  polished  and  temper  drawn   on  the  screw  end, 
and  are  ready  for  market. 

The  old  adage,  "small  beginnings  make  great  endings,"  was  never 
more  fully  exemplified  than  in  the  case  of  the  Singer  &  Talcott  Stone 
Company,  of  Chicago,  one  of  the  largest  stone  quarrying  and  cutting 
establishments  in  the  United  States.  In  1852  Horace  M.  Singer,  then 
a  young  man  of  twenty-nine  years,  with  very  little  capital,  but  a  large  stock 
of  energy,  commenced  boating,  with  one  canal  boat,  "spoil  bank"  stone 
from  the  banks  of  the  Illinois  and  Michigan  Canal,  at  Lemont,  and  selling 
it  to  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company,  for  use  in  their  breakwater 
along  the  lake  front.  In  1854  he  formed  a  partnership  with  the  late  Man- 
cel  Talcott,  with  whom  he  was  associated  in  business  until  Mr.  Talcott's 
death  in  June,  1878.  After  working  in  "spoil  bank"  stone  a  short  time, 
Mr.  Singer  made  an  opening  in  a  quarry  which  the  cutting  of  the  canal 
had  developed,  and  commenced  on  a  small  scale  furnishing  the  celebrated 
Lemont  stone  for  the  Chicago  market.  The  business  of  the  firm  grew 
with  the  city,  until  at  the  time  of  the  great  fire  Singer  &  Talcott  ranked 
among  the  most  prominent  and  substantial  business  firms  of  the  city. 
After  the  great  fire  a  joint  stock  company  was  formed  by  consolidating 
the  firms  of  Singer  &  Talcott  and  Kavanagh,  Merriman  &  Kimbell, 
stone  cutters,  under  the  name  of  The  Singer  &  Talcott  Stone  Company. 
The  works  thus  established  are  extensive  and  complete  in  all  details.  All 
the  latest  improved  machinery  to  facilitate  labor,  is  made  use  of,  most 
of  which  was  invented  and  patented  by  A.  T.  Merriman,  the  superin- 
tendent of  the  company,  and  all  of  which  was  constructed  under  his 
immediate  supervision.  The  company's  trade  has  extended  over  the 
States  of  Illinois,  Indiana,  Ohio,  Michigan,  Missouri,  Iowa  and  Wisconsin, 
and  large  shipments  have  been  made  by  the  company  to  Montreal  and 
Toronto,  Canada.  The  following  named  gentlemen  constitute  its  officers: 
H.  M.  Singer,  President,  the  original  founder  of  the  company;  A.  T. 
Merriman,  Vice  President  and  Superintendent,  who  has  been  connected 
with  the  stone  business  of  Chicago  upwards  of  twenty-five  years;  C.  B. 
Kimbell,  Treasurer,  who  began  business  in  1857,  when  a  boy  of  seventeen, 
with  Singer  &  Talcott;  E.  T.  Singer,  Secretary,  son  of  the  original 
founder,  who  entered  the  business  when  a  boy  from  school  fourteen  years 
ago.  The  stone  work  of  many  prominent  buildings  in  Chicago,  and 
nine-tenths  of  all  the  stone  sidewalks  laid  here  and  in  St.  Louis  and  Mil- 
waukee, are  from  the  works  of  this  company.  Its  specialty  is  machine 
dressed  sidewalk  stone,  which  has  made  Chicago  celebrated  for  its  fine 
flag  stone  sidewalks.  The  company's  quarries  are  located  at  Lemont, 
Illinois,  on  the  Illinois  and  Michigan  Canal,  and  two  steamers  arid  five 
barges  are  required  to  transport  their  product  to  market.  The  Chicago 
office  and  works  are  located  on  Franklin  street,  between  VanBuren  and 
Harrison  streets,  occupying  from  number  304  to  320,  with  office  at  316 
Franklin  street. 


i6o 


CYRUS  HALL  McCORMICK. 


Among  the  large  army  of  inventors,  there  are  comparatively  few 
that  the  world  cares  anything  about,  for  the  reason  that  the  individual 
inventions  which  may  be  said  to  have  revolutionized  the  world  are,  as 
compai'ed  to  the  whole,  not  numerous.  Nor  do  inventors,  as  a  rule, 
achieve  that  success  which  they  often  merit,  and  which  the  world  demands 
as  a  condition  of  its  recognition.  Fortunately  the  great  inventor  and 
manufacturer  whose  name  is  now  before  us,  as  not  only  a  representative 
Chicagoan,  but  a  representative  American,  has  found  the  world  not  only 
ready  to  reward  him  for  his  genius,  to  which  it  acknowledges  its  indebted- 
ness for  the  achievement  of  a  complete  revolution  in  its  grandest  industry, 
but  also  to  know  more  of  one  whose  fame  is  co-extensive  with  civilization. 

Cyrus  Hall  McCormick  is  the  son  of  Robert  McCormick  and  Mary 
Ann  Hall  McCormick,  a,nd  was  born  in  Rockbridge  county,  Virginia, 
February  i5th,  1809.  His  father  was  a  native  of  Rockbridge,  and  his 
mother  a  native  of  Augusta  county  in  the  same  State,  and  were  of  Scotch- 
Irish  descent.  The  facilities  for  acquiring  an  education  in  those  days 
were  extremely  limited,  and  if  a  boy  became  educated,  it  was  more 
through  the  natural  aptitude  of  a  brilliant  mind  in  reading  lessons  from 
nature  and  artificial  and  mechanical  surroundings  than  from  any  advan- 
tages offered  by  the  common  schools.  So  far,  however,  as  they  were 
able  to  develop  the  mind,  they  had  the  opportunity  in  the  case  of  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  who  obtained  from  them  all  the  education  which 
they  impaired.  But  he  was  making  a  more  rapid  progress  outside  of  the 
school  than  he  could  possibly  make  in  it.  Born  on  a  far.m,  and  inheriting 
from  his  father  an  inventive  turn  of  mind,  he  very  early  in  life  saw  that 
agriculture  was  sadly  in  need  of  inventions  to  enable  it  to  achieve  its 
highest  possibilities;  and  when  only  fifteen  years  old,  he  gave  some 
evidence  of  what  has  since  distinguished  him  by  constructing  a  "cradle," 
which  he  himself  used  in  the  harvest  field. 

The  elder  McCormick  was  the  inventor  and  patentee  of  several 
valuable  machines,  among  which  were  threshing,  hydraulic,  hemp-break- 
in(T  etc.  In  1816  he  devised  a  reaping  machine  with  which  he  experimented 
in  the  harvest  of  that  year,  but  when  so  baffled  and  disappointed  in  his 
experiments,  he  laid  it  aside  and  never  experimented  with  it  again  till  the 
Summer  of  1831.  He  then  added  some  improvements  to  it,  and  again 
tested  its  operation  in  a  field  of  grain  on  his  farm,  when  he  became  so 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  161 

thoroughly  convinced  that  the  principle  upon  which  it  was  constructed 
could  never  be  practically  successful  in  cutting  any  promiscuous  crop  of 
grain  as  it  stands  in  the  field  that  he  at  once  determined  to  abandon  all 
further  efforts  at  making  it  a  success.  The  trouble  with  his  machine  was 
that  it  sought  to  cut  the  grain  as  it  advanced  upon  it  in  a  body  by  a  series 
of  stationary  hooks  placed  along  the  front  edge  of  the  frame-work,  hav- 
ing as  many  perpendicular  cylinders  as  hooks  revolving  over  and  against 
the  edge  of  the  hooks,  with  pins  arranged  on  the  periphery  of  the  cylin- 
ders to  force  the  stalks  of  grain  across  the  edges  of  the  hooks  and  so  carry 
the  grain  in  that  erect  position  to  the  stubble  side  of  the  machine,  there 
to  drop  it  in  a  continuous  swath.  These  different  separations  of  the  grain 
at  the  different  hooks  along  the  front  edge  of  the  frame-work  for  such 
subsequent  delivery  in  swath  as  proposed,  especially  in  a  crop  of  tangled 
grain,  as, stated,  were  found  to  be  entirely  impracticable. 

The  son's  first  effort  in  the  improvement  of  agricultural  machinery 
after  the  construction  of  his  hand  cradle,  was  applied  to  what  was  then 
termed  the  "hillside  plow,"  which  resulted  in  a  patent  granted  to  him  in 
1831,  and  in  the  construction  of  a  plow  for  being  used  on  one  side  of 
a  hill  by  alternate  furrows  thrown  on  the  lower  side,  the  plow  alternating 
as  a  right  or  left-hand  plow,  being  always  changed  from  one  to  the  other 
at  the  end  of  each  furrow.  This  plow  was,  however,  superseded  by 
a  very  superior  one  invented  by  him,  called  the  self-sharpening  horizontal 
plow,  for  which  letters  patent  were  granted  to  him  in  1833.  This  latter 
plow  was  simple,  strong  and  durable,  and  did  excellent  work  as  well  on 
land  essentially  level  as  on  hilly  ground.  And  but  for  the  fact  that  the 
mind  and  efforts  of  the  inventor  became  more  absorbed  in  the  pursuit 
and  improvement  of  the  greater  invention  of  his  reaping  machine  about 
this  time,  which  actually  prevented  him  from  supplying  the  rising  demand 
for  this  plow,  he  believed  it  would  have  become,  properly  managed  and 
manufactured,  a  valuable  and  highly  appreciated  implement  of  husbandry, 
being  the  first  perfect  self-sharpening  plow  ever  invented. 

The  son,  having  observed  the  defects  already  mentioned  in  his  father's 
reaping  machine,  undertook  the  correction  of  the  same,  and  the  discovery 
of  a  new  principle  of  operation,  by  which  the  difficulties  to  be  overcome 
might  be  removed,  and  the  desideratum  of  a  successful  reaping  machine 
given  to  the  world. 

This  he  succeeded  finally  in  doing,  and  in  1831,  when  .but  twenty- 
two  years  old,  a  short  time  after  his  father  had  made  the  final  trial  of  his 
machine,  Cyrus  H.  McCormick  invented  the  machine  which  has  made 
his  name  so  famous  and  conferred  upon  mankind  such  inestimable  benefits. 

After  observing  the  character  of  the  experiment  made  by  his  father's 
.machine,  he  soon  came  to  the  conclusion  that  ripe  grain  standing  as  it  is 
usually  found  in  a  field  in  a  more  or  less  tangled  state,  could  not  be  suc- 
cessfully harvested  without  taking  it  as  a  body  without  the.  separations 
at  different  points  along  the  cutting  apparatus  as  done  by  his  father's 
machine,  and  it  then  occurred  to  him  that  to  cut  and  save  the  grain  prop- 


162  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

erly  as  was  done  by  the  cradle  then  in  use,  a  sufficient  motion  for  that 
purpose  given  to  an  edged  instrument  was  only  necessary  and  that  in 
advancing  upon  the  body  of  grain  to  be  cut  by  a  machine,  the  requisite 
motion  in  addition  to  the  forward  motion  of  the  machine  might  be  sup- 
plied laterally  by  a  crank  attached  to  the  end  of  a  reciprocating  blade. 
This  feature,  which  is  the  foundation  of  all  reaping  machines  of  the  present 
day,  has  remained  essentially  intact  as  invented  by  Mr,  McCormick. 

As  noticed  in  the  chapter  on  manufactures,  very  little  was  done  in 
the  way  of  manufacturing  the  machine  until  1840.  After  the  invention 
of  the  machine,  improvements  became  necessary  and  were  accordingly 
made,  and  while  it  was  thus  being  brought  to  perfection,  Mr.  McCormick 
expressed  a  wish  that  his  father  would  aid  him  to  establish  himself  in 
some  business,  to  which  the  father  responded  by  giving  him  a  farm  and 
stocking  it.  It  is  not  a  cause  of  wonder,  however,  viewed  in  light  of  the 
fact  that  the  world  has  been  none  too  large  for  the  exercise  of  his  genius 
and  energy,  that  one  year  on  the  farm  was  sufficient  to  satisfy  the  son 
with  the  restricted  routine  of  such  a  life.  An  opportunity  was  presented 
to  engage  in  the  iron- smelting  business,  which  Mr.  McCormick  embraced, 
believing  that  it  would  furnish  a  broader  field  for  the  exercise  of  his 
ambition  and  that  it  promised  larger  profits.  The  panic  of  1837,  how- 
ever, came,  in  the  midst  of  which  his  partner  mortgaged  his  own  private 
property  to  his  family  friends  and  left  the  smelting  interest  and  Mr. 
McCormick  to  do  as  best  they  could.  Financial  ruin  now  stared  him 
in  the  face,  but  with  that  unbending  honesty  which  has  distinguished  the 
great  inventor  through  all  his  life,  he  applied  all  his  capital  to  the  extin- 
guishment  of  his  debts. 

Now  he  began  to  give  his  whole  attention  to  the  introduction  of  his 
invention  into  general  use.  His  first  patent  was  granted  in  1834.  In  1845 
he  removed  to  Cincinnati  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  himself  there, 
and  during  that  year  he  obtained  a  second  patent  for  several  valuable 
improvements.  In  1846-7-8  his  machine  was  manufactured  by  parties 
in  Brockport,  New  York,  who  paid  him  a  royalty.  Additional  patents 
were  granted  for  still  more  valuable  improvements  in  1847  and  1858. 
With  that  keen  foresight  which  has  made  Mr.  McCormick  a  brilliantly 
successful  business  man,  he  was  among  the  first  to  see  the  advantages 
which  Chicago  possessed  for  becoming  the  center  of  the  business  of  the 
West,  and  accordingly  he  removed  here  in  1847,  an^  while  free  to 
acknowledge  all  that  Chicago  has  done  for  him,  he  finds  Chicago 
enthusiastic  in  acknowledgment  of  what  he  has  done  for  her.  In  1859 
the  Honorable  Reverdy  Johnson,  in  an  argument  before  the  Commissioner 
of  Patents,  said  that  the  McCormick  reaper  had  already  "contributed  an 
annual  income  to  the  whole  country  of  fifty-five  millions  of  dollars  at 
least,  which  must  increase  through  all  time."  The  truth  of  this  state- 
ment is  patent,  and  in  the  presence  of  it  the  indebtedness  of  Chicago  to 
her  illustrious  citizen,  its  inventor,  is  equally  so. 

The  business  of  manufacturing  the  reaping  machine,  which  it  has 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 


163 


taken  so  many  years  to  perfect,  had  scarcely  got  under  full  headway 
when  the  original  patents  expired,  and  their  renewal,  under  the  circum- 
stances, was  very  unreasonably  refused  at  the  Patent  Office  and  by 
Congress.  Mr.  McCormick  has  therefore  been  compelled  from  quite  an 
early  day  in  the  history  of  his  inventions  to  compete  with  the  results  of 
his  own  thought  and  ingenuity,  and  has  been  deprived  of  the  protection 
which  has  been  granted  without  an  exception  to  other  inventors  who 
have  made  valuable  discoveries  for  the  benefit  of  the  country.  This 
crowning  injustice  to  Mr.  McCormick  has  to  a  great  extent  resulted  from 
the  avaricious  propensity  of  a  grasping  public,  in  appropriating  to  itself 
the  whole  benefit  of  its  working,  instead  of  that  reasonable  proportion 
to  the  inventor  which  the  laws  of  the  country  designed,  as  not  only 
a  right  but  a  stimulus  to  the  adventurous  inventor,  in  that  indomitable 
perseverance  which  is  necessary  to  the  accomplishment  of  great  achieve- 
ments, coupled  as  they  are  with  great  hazard  and  responsibility. 

With  dauntless  courage  he  pressed  forward  against  the  unusual 
opposition,  until  he  has  had  the  proud  satisfaction  of  seeing  his  machines 
acknowledged  as  the  best  manufactured.  He  has  been  the  champion  in 
every  contest  upon  the  field  of  battle  in  which  his  machine  has  ever  been 
engaged,  beginning  with  a  trial  of  his  machine  against  Obed  Hussey's 
machine  in  1843,  at  Richmond,  Virginia,  before  a  jury  of  judges  appointed 
by  the  spectators  upon  the  field,  and  as  evidence  of  his  triumph  he  holds 
the  gold  medal  of  the  American  Institute  given  in  1849;  the  only  prize, 
the  grand  council  medal,  given  at  London  in  1851;  the  grand  gold  medal 
given  at  Paris  in  1855;  the  grand  prize  gold  medal  given  at  London  in 
1862;  the  silver  medal,  the  highest  prize,  awarded  at  a  field  trial  in  Lan- 
cashire, England,  in  1862;  the  grand  gold  medal  given  at  Hamburg  in 
1863;  the  grand  prize  given  at  Paris,  in  1867,  the  highest  honor  of  that 
great  exposition,  together  with  the  decoration  of  the  Cross  of  the  Legion 
of  Honor;  two  grand  gold  medals  given  at  Vienna  in  1873;  two  bronze 
medals,  the  highest  prizes  given  at  Philadelphia  in  1876;  the  grand  gold 
medal  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society  of  England,  in  a  competitive 
trial  of  self-wire-bipding  harvesting  machines,  in  1878;  the  only  grand 
prize  given  for  harvesting  machines  at  Paris,  in  1878,  together  with  the 
decoration  of  officer  of  the  Legion  of  Honor,  with  the  election  by 
the  French  Institute  as  member  of  the  Academy  of  Sciences  in  the 
department  of  Rural  Economy,  as  having  done  more  for  the  cause  of 
agriculture  than  any  other  living  man. 

These  triumphs  were  the  results  of  hard  fought  battles,  in  which  the 
competing  machines  were  not  always  the  strongest  arm  of  the  enemies* 
line,  but  unreasonable  prejudice  was.  At  the  World's  Fair  in  London 
in  1851,  before  the  trial  which  resulted  in  a  grand  victory  for  Mr.  McCor- 
mick's  reaper,  the  London  TIMES  characterized  the  machine  as  "a  cross 
between  an  Astley  chariot,  a  wheelbarrow  and  a  flying  machine."  This 
expression  of  ridicule  voiced  the  foreign  sentiment  which  met  Mr. 
McCormick  at  this  first  international  exhibition,  but  his  victory  was  so 


164  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

absolute  that  this  same  jeering  paper  pronounced  the  reaper  "the  most 
valuable  article  in  the  exhibition,  and  of  sufficient  value  alone  to  pay  the 
whole  expense  of  the  exhibition."  Thus,  through  difficulties  that  would 
have  disheartened  a  less  determined  man,  he  pressed  steadily  forward, 
giving  battle  to  all  who  offered  battle,  until  the  world  freely  acknowledged 
him  to  be  the  inventor  of  not  only  the  first,  but  also  of  the  best  reaping 
machine. 

But  Mr.  McCormick's  fame  is  not  wholly  that  of  an  inventor, 
although  very  naturally  as  an  inventor  he  is  best  known.  A  mind  like 
his,  strong,  brilliant  and  practical,  is  not  satisfied  to  be  confined  even  to 
the  broad  field  of  enterprise  which  his  invention  and  manufacture  of  such 
a  universally  useful  machine  as  the  reaper  afforded.  It  must  grasp  the 
popular  questions  which  agitate  humanity,  and  take  sides  according  to 
its  conception  of  right,  justice  and  patriotism.  Following  this  most 
natural  law,  Mr.  McCormick  has  not  been  a  dim  light  in  American 
politics.  Being  a  Democrat  in  his  political  belief,  he  has  been  high  in 
the  councils  of  the  Democratic  party,  and  his  name  has  been  mentioned 
in  connection  with  the  highest  office  in  the  country.  As  a  member  of 
the  National  Democratic  Convention  at  Baltimore,  his  counsel  was  in 
opposition  to  the  dismemberment  of  the  party,  and  that  it  was  wise,  his 
party  have  since  had  abundant  evidence.  In  1864  he  was  the  candidate 
of  the  Democratic  and  conservative  voters  of  his  district  for  Congress 
and  although  failing  of  election,  the  contest  was  the  most  vigorous  ever 
known  in  a  congressional  campaign  in  the  district.  For  years  he  has  been 
a  member  of  the  State  and  National  Committees,  of  the  Democratic 
party,  being  chairman  of  the  State  Central  Committee  in  1876,  when  his 
friend,  Samuel  J.  Tilden,  was  a  candidate  for  the  presidency. 

In  religious  and  educational  affairs  Mr.  McCormick  has  taken  a 
prominent  and  self-sacrificing  part.  The  Theological  Seminary  of  the 
Northwest — an  institution  which  was  founded  and  munificently  endowed 
by  him — a  professorship  which  he  endowed  in  Washington  College, 
Virginia,  another  professorship  which  he  endowed  in  the  Union  Theo- 
logical Seminaiy  of  Virginia,  and  benefactions  to  other  religious  societies 
and  institutions  will  commemorate  his  fame  and  wisely  discriminating 
beneficence  in  a  more  enduring  form  than  if  embodied  in  marble  monu- 
ments. Grounded  in  the  Presbyterian  faith,  his  money  has  been  freely 
expended  in  extending  the  influence  of  that  denomination,  and  no  man 
is  held  in  higher  esteem  by  the  church  for  which  he  has  done  so  much. 

"During  his  eventful  struggle.,"  says  another  biographer,  "on  many 
fields  of  ardent  and  painful  rivalry,  Mr.  McCormick  remained  single 
until  1858.  He  then  married  a  daughter  of  Melzar  Fowler,  an  orphan 
niece  of  Judge  E.  G.  Merrick,  of  Detroit,  a  highly  gifted  and  accom- 
plished lady,  whose  elegant  and  kindly  attractions  grace  her  hospitable 
mansion." 

In  a  biographical  sketch  like  this,  it  is  impossible  to  do  justice  to 
a  subject  so  eminently  worthy  of  an  entire  volume,  and  which  in  the 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  165 

distant  future  the  biographer  will  select  as  among  the  most  glorious 
examples  of  human  success  and  grandeur,  and  will  clothe  the  details  of 
a  life  which  has  been  of  such  incalculable  value  to  mankind  with  an 
eloquence  of  expression  which  admiration  for  greatness  and  usefulness 
always  generates.  A  subject  like  this  never  lacks  biographers,  and  leav- 
ing for  others  to  complete  the  imperfect  record  here  outlined,  it  is  but 
just  to  say  that  the  summary  of  the  life  of  Cyrus  Hall  McCormick  is: 
Great  in  invention  and  manufacture;  indomitable  in  energy  and  enter- 
prise; patriotic  in  citizenship;  generous  in  spirit;  a  friend  to  education 
and  religion,  and  a  public  benefactor  who  has  made  the  world  better  and 
happier. 


1 66 


HORACE  M.  SINGER. 


The  subject  of  this  sketch,  Horace  M.  Singer,  was  born  at  Schenec- 
tady,  New  York,  October  ist,  1823,  and  is  the  son  of  John  V.  Singer, 
who  was  an  extensive  and  well  known  contractor  on  public  works,  and 
of  Annie  Collins,  a  lady  of  many  and  superior  attributes  of  mind  and  heart, 
who,  after  battling  with  the  hardships  of  pioneer  life  for  many  years,  still 
survives — at  the  age  of  eighty-one  years — residing  at  Lament  in  the 
enjoyment  of  a  beautiful  evening  of  life.  In  1824  the  family  removed 
to  Conneaut,  Ashtabula  county,  Ohio,  where  it  remained  for  about  twelve 
years,  when  it  left  Ohio  for  Illinois,  settling  at  Lockport,  October  315!, 
1836,  and  residing  there  for  many  years. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  allude  to  the  fact  that  a  frontier  life  afforded 
our  subject  little  opportunity  for  acquiring  a  book  education,  and  that  all 
he  obtained  was  procured  in  the  primitive  district  school  at  his  Ohio 
home.  The  development  of  new  countries  drafts  into  active  service  the 
physical  energy  of  both  the  young  and  old  who  may  be  found  among 
the  advance  guards  of  civilization,  leaving  little  time  and  furnishing  but 
limited  means  for  scholastic  culture.  The  school-house,  college  and  the 
church  lift  their  walls  only  after  the  fathers  and  the  children  have  cleared 
the  woodlands  and  adorned  the  prairies,  marked  out  the  village  and  laid 
the  foundation  of  the  city.  In  this  grand  metropolis  of  the  West,  with 
its  magnificent  school  structures,  and  other  educational  resorts — in  this 
richly  developed  West,  amidst  whose  flowers  and  harvest  fields,  hamlets 
and  towns,  school-houses  and  colleges,  so  thickly  dot  the  splendid  picture, 
that  their  shadows  lie  softly  over  the  entire  whole,  the  finger  marks  of  the 
brave  pioneer,  who  neglected  self-comfort  and  was  compelled  to  neglect 
the  education  of  his  own  children,  are  found  upon  the  basis  of  all  the 
glory.  For  us  who  have  come  after,  and  whose  children,  even  at  public 
expense,  are  provided  with  facilities  for  acquiring  a  polished  education, 
he  and  his  toiled  and  developed  amidst  primitive  rudeness.  Through 
such  an  experience  was  passed  the  boyhood  of  him  of  whom  we  write; 
but  his  life  and  acquirements,  like  those  of  the  vast  majority  of  Chicago's 
prominent  men,  have  fortunately  demonstrated  the  fact  that  education 
may  be  obtained  otherwise  than  in  the  schoolroom,  and  that  however 
limited  his  early  opportunities,  success  is  within  the  reach  of  every  young 
man  possessed  of  natural  ability  and  industrious  habits.  These,  with 
a  limited  education,  comprised  the  capital  with  which  Horace  M.  Singer 


•  •.;      .    -.  -     -! 

'    •'•'•'";.• 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  167 

began  life.  While  yet  a  mere  boy  he  gave  indications  of  the  energy  of 
character  which  was  to  distinguish  the  future  man,  by  obtaining  a  team 
and  doing  a  general  teaming  business  on  his  own  account,  carrying  for 
about  a  year,  passengers  and  goods  for  a  distance  of  a  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  west  and  south  of  Chicago  across  the  roadless  prairies,  and  through 
a  very  sparsely  settled  country.  But  an  occupation  of  such  character  was 
not  sufficient  to  satisfy  even  his  boyish  enterprise  and  ambition,  and  while 
he  labored  with  that  devotion  to  present  duty  which  has  been  the  con- 
spicuous element  of  his  life,  he  was  eagerly  watching  for  an  opportunity 
to  step  into  a  sphere  where  the  forces  of  his  nature  could  find  fair  play. 
Nor  was  he  long  compelled  to  wait.  A  position  offering  in  the  Engineer 
Corps  of  the  Illinois  and  Michigan  Canal,  he  accepted  it,  proving  him- 
self so  efficient  that  before  he  attained  his  majority  he  was  promoted  to 
the  position  of  Superintendent  of  Repairs  on  the  canal,  which  position 
he  held  until  1852,  when  he  resigned  for  the  purpose  of  engaging  in  the 
real  business  of  his  life — stone  quarrying  and  stone  manufacturing  and 
dealing,  in  which  he  has  continued  to  the  present  time,  building  up  an 
immense  business  and  establishing  himself  at  the  head  of  one  of  the 
largest  stone  companies  in  the  world.  At  the  very  basis  of  the  great  Singer 
&  Talcott  Stone  Company,  the  enterprise  of  Mr.  Singer  is  discerned  as 
the  chief  corner  stone,  a  fact  which  has  afcvays  been  gracefully  acknowl- 
edged by  the  company  thorough  his  continued  presidency  of  the  corporation 
from  its  organization  until  the  present  time.  Were  he  indebted  for 
prominence  alone  to  the  fact  of  being  the  founder  of  this  vast  enterprise — 
which  is  so  intimately  connected  with  the  architectural  splendor  of  Chi- 
cago,' and  the  elegance  of  our  streets,  to  say  nothing  of  its  position  among 
the  great  manufacturing  interests  of  the  city — it  would  entitle  him  to  an 
enviable  degree  of  regard  by  those  who  are  appreciative  of  the  beauty 
of  this  metropolis. 

But  Mr.  Singer  has  a  much  broader  claim  upon  public  attention  than 
that  which  arises  from  the  connection  of  his  private  enterprise  with  the 
history  of  Chicago.  Since  his  advent  here — in  1853 — he  has  been,  in 
the  truest  sense,  a  public  spirited  citizen,  always  subordinating  himself 
and  his  business  to  the  public  good.  Besides  being  identified  in  a  business 
capacity  with  the  majority  of  the  public  building  enterprises  of  the  city, 
he  was  the  chairman  of  the  building  committee  of  the  Central  Music 
Hall,  and  as  a  member  of  the  Board  of  County  Commissioners — to  which 
position  he  was  elected  after  the  fire  of  1871 — he  was  chairman  of  the 
building  committee  having  in  charge  the  erection  of  the  County  Court 
House  on  the  North  Side;  in  1866,  also,  he  was  a  member  of  the  General 
Assembly  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  and  he  has  been  a  stockholder  and 
director  of  the  First  National  Bank  of  Chicago  since  its  organization,  in 
all  of  which  positions  he  has  performed  his  duties  with  the  strictest 
integrity  and  with  an  ability  that  challenges  the  warmest  admiration. 
His  impulses  and  efforts,  in  short,  have  always  been  of  the  highest  char- 
acter, and  for  the  benefit  of  his  country  and  the  city  in  which  he  has  made 


i68  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

his  manhood's  achievements.  A  more  sturdy  patriotism  than  his,  during 
the  war  of  the  rebellion,  was  not  found  in  the  North.  Originally  a 
Douglas  Democrat,  like  the  great  man  he  followed,  he  early  raised  his 
voice  for  the  preservation  of  the  American  Union,  and  joining  the  Repub- 
lican party,  contributed  a  Jarge  amount  of  time  and  money  to  the  support 
of  the  government  in  its  time  of  need;  and  he  has  been  conspicuously 
identified  with  this  political  party  ever  since  the  war.  In  deeds  of  unosten- 
tatious benevolence,  also,  he  has  been  prominent  whenever  the  good  of  the 
community  or  of  individuals  plainly  demanded  it.  The  church  nearest 
his  residence,  regardless  of  denomination,  has  always  been  sure  of  whatever 
reasonable  contribution  it  assessed  upon  him,  and  the  Methodist  and 
Congregational  churches,  from  their  locations,  have  principally  been  the 
recipients  of  his  bounty.  Of  any  cause  for  the  benefit  of  mankind  which 
commended  itself  to  his  judgment,  he  has  always  been  a  modest  but  liberal 
patron. 

Mr.  Singer  was  married  at  Lockport,  Illinois,  April  6th,  1847,  to 
Harriet  A.  Roberts,  daughter  of  T.  T.  Roberts,  Ex-Sheriff  of  Niagara 
county,  New  York,  and  a  most  interesting  family  has  sprung  from 
the  union,  consisting  of  three  sons — Edward  T.  Singer,  now  thirty-three 
years  of  age,  and  secretary  of  the  Singer  &  Talcott  Stone  Company, 
with  which  company  he  has  been  connected  from  boyhood;  Charles 
G.  Singer,  thirty-one,  residing  in  New  York  city,  and  Walter  H.  Singer, 
twenty-four,  and  in  the  employ  of  the  company  of  which  his  father  is 
president. 

Such  are  the  outlines  of  a  life  that  has  been  a  continuous  record 
of  industry,  integrity  and  usefulness,  and  that  is  closely  interwoven  with 
the  history  of  Chicago.  In  all  respects  Mr.  Singer  is  a  self-made  man, 
and  in  the  enjoyment  of  his  fortune  and  influence  they  must  appear  to 
him  doubly  precious,  as  he  contemplates  that  what  lie  has  and  is  he  has 
himself  created.  His  modest  beginning  teaches  the  lesson  of  industry 
and  economy,  and  his  achievements  are  a  glorious  tribute  to  the  worth 
'of  unsullied  character  and  a  reasonable  ambition.  It  is  to  such  men  who 
while  carving  out  the  pathway  to  personal  success,  through  discouraging 
obstacles,  have  left  in  their  footprints  monuments  to  their  matchless  enter- 
prise, that  this  great  city  is  indebted  for  its  existence,  its  influence  and 
magnificence. 


169 


ROBERT  HILL. 

In  the  subject  of  the  following  biography,  we  find  a  man  whose  life 
was  an  unusual  illustration  of  amiable  traits  (of  character,  attractive  per- 
sonal virtues  and  talents  and  remarkable  business  success.  Indeed  it  is 
seldom  that  a  man  in  the  quiet  pursuits  of  business  and  in  the  discharge 
of  the  every  day  duties  of  life,  is  enabled  to  so  deeply  impress  his  own 
character  upon  the  community,  and  to  win  such  universal  esteem  because 
of  the  possession  of  a  richly  endowed  mind  and  noble  nature,  as  Robert 
Hill  succeeded  in  doing.  In  glancing  over  the  record  of  his  life,  it  soon 
makes  the  impression  that  he  was  what  would  be  called  an  unusually 
strong  man,  and  yet  so  perfectly  balanced  that  although  ruggedness  of 
character  stands  out  in  charming  prominence,  the  gentler  traits  are  never 
obscured  and  never  weakened.  In  business  he  bore  himself  with  that 
commanding  dignity  and  unbending  integrity  which  are  sometimes 
thought  to  exclude  regard  for  those  delicate  obligations  of  life  which 
men  who  are  impressed  with  the  truth  that  human  existence  has  other 
objects  than  the  accumulation  of  riches,  are  wont  to  recognize.  This  is 
not  always  true,  however;  and  with  Mr.  Hill  it  certainly  was  not.  He 
was  delicately  sensitive  to  the  claim  of  the  world  upon  him  for  sympathy, 
charity  and  encouragement;  and,  perhaps,  this  truth  cannot  be  better 
established  than  by  reference  to  the  fact  that  he  was  always  deeply  inter- 
ested in  young  men  struggling  for  a  start  in  life,  and  that  many  such  owe 
their  success  to  his  pecuniary  assistance  and  fatherly  advice.  In  every 
relation  of  life  he  was  a  faultless  pattern.  As  husband,  father,  brother, 
son  and  friend,  as  well  as  a  business  man,  his  life  was  without  a  shadow 
to  mar  its  perfect  beauty  and  consistency.  Hardly  could  his  character 
be  more  faithfully  portrayed  than  the  pen  of  an  intimate  friend  painted 
it  in  a  letter  of  condolence  to  Mrs.  Hill,  upon  the  death  of  her  honored 
husband.  Said  this  friend:  "Consider  that  life  is  not  to  be  measured  by 
length  of  days,  but  by  deeds;  then  you  can  feel  that  his  harvest  of  years 
was  ripe  and  ready  for  the  gleaner,  for  it  has  been  said  of  Mr.  Hill,  'he 
was  everybody's  friend.'  Where  can  you  find  a  more  Christ-like  trait 
of  character?  *  *  *  *  Gather  your  little  family  around 
you,  and  may  the  vacant  place  be  a  reminder  to  them  of  him  whose  pure 
integrity,  gentle  affability  and  unostentatious  charities  endeared  him  to 
many  friends  and  now  make  his  memory  blessed."  Such  a  tribute  is  the 
grandest  that  can  be  paid  to  human  life,  and  it  is  of  such  a  life  that  it  is 


170  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

the  fortune  of  the  biographer  to  write.  Having,  too,  been  the  artificer 
of  his  own  fortune,  working  his  way  from  a  humble  beginning  to  a  posi- 
tion of  honor  and  affluence,  the  perusal  of  a  truthful  sketch  of  his  career 
can  but  be  beneficial  to  any  young  man  who  is  seeking  encouragement 
in  the  midst  of  unfavorable  surroundings,  and  longs  to  make  himself 
felt  upon  the  world. 

Robert  Hill  was  the  son  of  Miles  Hill  and  Mercy  Robinson,  and 
was  born  in  the  town  of  Cooper,  in  the  State  of  Maine,  in  the  year  1821. 
The  father  was  a  native  of  the  Green  Mountain  Stale,  but  early  removed 
to  the  State  in  which  our  subject  was  born,  settling  near  Calais,  Wash- 
ington county,  where  he  combined  the  life  of  a  farmer  and  rural  hotel 
keeper,  and  where  his  son  received  such  education  as  the  common  school 
afforded,  and  the  foundation  of  his  subsequent  sterling  character.  Prob- 
ably here,  too,  his  mind  was  first  inclined  toward  the  business  in  which 
in  after  life  he  achieved  such  signal  success  and  made  his  name  familiar  to 
the  traveling  public.  Soon  after  attaining  his  majority,  however,  he  went 
into  the  hotel  business  at  Baring,  near  Calais,  in  Maine,  in  which  he  remained 
until  1849;  but  the  East  did  not  offer  such  opportunities  for  the  exercise 
of  his  business  abilities  as  they  demanded,  and  in  the  Fall  of  that  year 
he  decided  to  come  into  the  broad  West  which  has  attracted  so  much 
talent  from  the  older  sections  of  the  world.  Accordingly  he  disposed 
of  his  business  in  his  native  State,  and  started  for  the  then  promising 
Territory  of  Wisconsin.  Determining,  also,  to  change  the  character  of  his 
business,  he  purchased,  before  leaving,  a  stock  of  goods  such  as  are  usually 
found  in  a  country  store,  and  with  these  landed  at  Sheboygan,  whence 
he  started  with  his  mercantile  effects  in  a  wagon,  for  Fond  du  Lac  county, 
in  which  he  opened  a  store.  At  the  expiration  of  three  years,  however, 
he  concluded  that  his  success  was  not  commensurate  with  the  sacrifices 
that  frontier  life  necessitates,  and  disposing  of  his  interests  in  his  new 
home,  he  returned  to  the  scenes  of  his  childhood,  more,  however,  for  the 
purpose  of  better  fitting  himself  for  a  contented  residence  in  the  midst 
of  dawning  civilization  in  these  regions  than  for  the  purpose  of  showing 
his  dissatisfaction  with  his  estimate  of  Western  opportunities  for  the 
growth  of  a  young  man  in  influence  and  affluence.  Indeed,  his  faith  in 
the  West  was  not  at  all  shaken.  He,  perhaps,  very  properly  concluded 
that  his  selection  of  a  location  had  not  been  the  most  fortunate,  and  with 
his  acquired  knowledge  of  the  comparative  merits  of  different  locations, 
he  went  East  with  two  determinations — one  was  to  marry  and  the  other 
to  return  and  settle  in  Chicago.  The  life  of  a  bachelor,  in  those  days, 
was  an  irksome  and  a  lonely  one  in  the  West,  and  to  one  with  the  fine 
sensibilities  of  Mr.  Hill  it  was  unendurable. 

Soon  after  his  return  home,  therefore — in  1852 — he  was  married  to 
Sarah  Woodcock,  the  estimable  lady  who  survives  him.  After  his  mar- 
riage, with  his  young  wife  he  came  to  Chicago,  arriving  here  in  the 
Spring  of  1853,  with  but  a  small  capital,  except  the  enterprise,  energy 
and  self-reliance  which  his  previous  experience  and  nature  had  given 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS   DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  171 

him,  and  the  encouragement,  advice  and  support  of  a  wife  who  proved 
herself  the  noblest  and  most  loving  of  women.  With  this  priceless 
capital  he  began  life  in  the  city  in  which  his  name  will  be  as  lasting  as 
the  city  itself.  His  first  business  adventure  was  the  proprietorship  of  the 
Lake  Street  House,  a  rather  pretentious  though  small  brick  structure  on 
the  northeast  corner  of  Lake  and  Franklin  streets.  Here  he  did  a  fair 
business,  securing  a  due  share  of  the  travel  which  had  then  set  toward 
Chicago,  for  something  over  a  year.  But  this  house  being  entirely  too 
small  for  both  his  ambition  and  his  enterprise,  he  disposed  of  his  lease 
and  other  interests  in  it,  and  leased  the  Clarendon  House,  a  comparatively 
fine  brick  structure  on  Randolph  street,  between  what  is  now  Fifth 
avenue  and  Franklin  street.  This  he  enlarged,  refitted  and  furnished  in 
excellent  style,  and  a  successful  business  repaid  him  for  his  enterprising 
spirit.  His  popularity  as  a  landlord  now  began  to  spreaU  beyond  the 
accommodations  which  he  could  furnish,  and  finding  it  necessary  to 
enlarge  his  facilities,  in  1857  he  bought  out  the  Garden  City  House,  on 
the  corner  of  Madison  and  Market  streets,  where  the  immense  wholesale 
house  of  Marshall  Field  &  Company  now  stands.  This  was  a  large 
four-story  brick  hotel  of  seventy-five  rooms.  Here  he  remained  for 
seven  years.  But  the  location  and  surroundings  did  not  please,  and  he 
determined  to  secure  a  more  favorable  and  central  point,  which  he  did 
in  1864,  by  purchasing  the  lease  and  franchises  of  the  Matteson  House, 
on  the  northwest  corner  of  Randolph  and  Dearborn  streets,  and  which 
was  in  the  very  heart  of  the  business  center  of  the  city,  forming,  with 
the  Sherman  and  Tremont  Houses  the  trio  of  hotels  which  divided 
the  first-class  business  for  several  years  previous  to  the  great  fire.  Upon 
taking  possession  of  this  house  Mr.  Hill  made  extensive  repairs,  and 
by  leasing  adjoining  buildings  increased  its  capacity  until  the  hotel  con- 
tained a  hundred  and  thirty  good  rooms,  and  was  kept  in  the  excellent 
style  for  which  the  proprietor  will  ever  be  remembered  as  maintaining. 
Indeed,  the  house,  under  his  management,  became  the  most  popular  and 
profitable  hotel  in  the  West;  and  in  1866  he,  With  Mr.  M.  O.  Walker, 
purchased  the  property  for  one  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  dollars. 

Mr.  Hill  was  thus  the  proprietor  and  half  owner  of  one  of  the  best 
and  most  successful  hotels  in  the  country  at  the  time  of  the  great  fire.  That 
dreadful  calamity,  however,  swept  the  Matteson  House  out  of  existence, 
and  the  enterprising  proprietor  found  himself  suddenly  bereft  of  business 
and  a  place  of  business.  But  more  fortunate  than  many  of  those  who 
suffered  similarly,  his  enterprise  had  rewarded  him  with  a  beautiful  home 
on  the  corner  of  Washington  and  Wood  streets,  and  that  was  safe.  Still 
the  blackened  ruins  of  his  hotel  would  have  been  disheartening  to  a  less 
plucky  man,  especially  as  the  condition  of  the  companies  in  which  he  was 
insured  did  not  allow  him  but  one-third  of  his  insurance.  It  need  not  be 
stated  at  this  point  of  this  sketch,  however,  that  Mr.  Hill  was  not  dis- 
heartened. He  went  ahead  as  if  destiny  carried  him ;  but  destiny  carries  no 
one.  It  is  the  forces  within  that  make  what  we  sometimes  call  destiny. 


173  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

With  his  usual  keen  perception,  he  decided  that  a  hotel  farther  south 
would  meet  the  requirements  of  the  public  better  than  a  house  on  the  old 
location.  Accordingly  he  disposed  of  the  Matteson  House  property  in  the 
burnt  district,  and  securing  the  land  on  the  corner  of  Wabash  avenue  and 
Jackson  street,  built  the  present  elegant  Matteson  House,  of  which  he 
was  the  proprietor  at  the  time  of  his  death. 

Mr.  Hill  died  March  4th,  1877,  mourned  bv  the  people  of  Chicago,  who 
recognized  in  him  a  citizen  that  could  not  well  be  spared,  and  by  thou- 
sands who  had  become  familiar  with  his  character  through  patronage  of 
the  house,  which  his  management  made  so  popular.  Connected  with 
the  Union  Park  Congregational  Society,  to  which  he  was  a  liberal 
patron,  the  words  of  the  pastor  officiating  at  the  funeral  were  a  most 
touching  tribute  to  the  worth  of  one  whom  in  pastoral  relations  he  knew 
intimately.  ' 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hill  had  seven  children  born  unto  them — two  daugh- 
ters and  five  sons.  Both  of  the  daughters  are  dead,  Laura  dying  in 
infancy  and  Ada  when  six  years  old.  The  children  surviving  are  named 
Charles,  Horace,  George,  Webster  and  Edwin,  and  are  all  proving  them- 
selves worthy  of  the  noble  parentage  which  is  theirs. 


MANGEL  TALCOTT. 

Seldom  has  a  life  developed  and  closed  more  satisfactorily  than  that 
of  Mancel  Talcott.  A  character  of  such  strength  and  symmetry  as  his 
always  leaves  its  impress  upon  a  community.  Men  achieve  brilliant  suc- 
cess in  some  special  avenue  of  life,  and  their  victories  are  permitted  to 
shadow  their  defeats  and  their  defects;  they  live  with  the  perfect  side  of 
their  characters  to  the  world,  and  die  behind  the  colossal  appearance  of  the 
structure.  In  some  one  feature  of  human  character  they  are  dazzlingly 
brilliant,  while  in  all  others  they  are  conspicuously  lacking.  It  may  be 
the  reputation  of  a  warrior,  statesman,  orator,  poet,  philosopher  or  philan- 
thropist that  attracts  the  admiration  of  mankind  and  commands  a  moment's 
homage  when  the  funeral  cortege  announces  that  the  life  is  gone  out.  The 
marble  shaft  may  proclaim  the  reverence  cherished  for  the  valor  of  a 
soldier,  the  fidelity  of  a* martyr,  the  founder  of  a  government  or  the  savior 
of  a  nation,  but  none  of  these  rise  to  the  dignity  of  manhood's  possibilities. 
It  is  only  occasionally  that  we  find  a  character  that  is  roundly  and  magnifi- 
cently developed;  that  is  an  impregnable  fortress  against  the  dangers  that 
threaten  society,  an  unyielding  pillar  to  government  in  every  emergency, 
an  ornament  and  example  in  business,  a  light  and  a  comfort  in  the  home 
and  a  monument  to  the  fullest  development  of  the  highest  virtues  that 
ever  adorn  the  human  heart.  Such  a  character  in  an  eminent  degree  was 
possessed  by  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  As  a  husband  he  was  gentle  and 
devoted;  as  a  friend  kind  and  steadfast;  in  business  precise,  energetic 
and  honorable;  as  an  official  stern  and  unflinchingly  honest,  and  as  a  citizen 
was  ever  found  where  the  profoundest  loyalty  and  the  welfare  of  society 
naturally  directed.  In  every  position,  private  or  public,  to  which  duty 
summoned  him,  during  an  exceedingly  active  life,  he  showed  himself  to 
have  been  among  the  highest  minded  of  men.  In  manner  he  was  some- 
times gruff,  but  this  was  the  result  of  the  absolute  practical  view  which 
he  took  of  life,  and  which  characterized  all  his  acts,  whether  pri^te  or 
public,  and  which  extended  even  to  the  dispensing  of  his  large  charities. 
If  there  was  a  duty  to  be  performed  he  proceeded  to  discharge  it  in  the 
simplest  and  most  direct  way,  and  if  the  duty  happened  to  be  the  denuncia- 
tion of  wrong  or  wrong-doing,  his  language  was  so  plain  and  emphatic 
that  it  frequently  earned  for  him  the  reputation  of  being  rough.  But 
a  kinder  or  more  sympathetic  heart  than  his  never  throbbed.  Human 
misfortune  always  found  it  ready  to  respond  promptly,  but  with  conscien- 


174  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

tious  and  characteristic  unostentation  to  its  pleadings  for  aid.  Charitable 
institutions  were  the  frequent  recipients  of  his  bounty,  and  amidst  all  his 
own  brilliant  success  he  never  forgot  the  divine  injunction:  "The  poor 
always  ye  have  with  you."  His  charities,  however,  were  of  much  broader 
scope  than  is  here  intimated.  Any  instrumentality  for  the  elevation  and 
improvement  of  men,  was  sure  to  find  a  substantial  friend  in  Mancel  Talcott. 
When  the  Church  of  the  Redeemer — the  Universalist  Church  at  the  corner 
of  Washington  and  Sangamon  streets — with  which  he  was  connected, 
was  struggling  to  release  itself  from  debt,  he  quietly  handed  in  his  check 
for  five-sixths  of  the  amount — one  of  the  many  instances  of  his  liberality 
of  a  similar  character.  His  nobility  of  nature  and  gentleness  of  heart, 
however,  was  evidenced  not  alone  through  his  open  handed  benevolence. 
His  wise  counsel  and  considerate  treatment  of  the  young,  with  whom  he 
had  intercourse,  has  doubtless  been  the  foundation  of  many  useful  lives, 
and  has  endeared  his  memory  to  some  who,  now  at  middle  age,  are  help- 
ing to  bear  the  burdens  of  united  citizenship.  Among  such  can  be  found 
those  who  will  bow  the  head  reverently  as  the  name  of  their  benefactor 
is  spoken,  and  say :  "He  was  a  father  to  me."  It  is  simply  a  grand  life 
that  can  thus  engraven  itself  upon  the  world  in  such  bold  relief. 

Mancel  Talcott  was  born  in  Rome,  Oneida  county,  New  York, 
October  i2th,  1817,  and  was  the  son  of  Mancel  and  Betsey  Talcott.  His 
childhood  was  spent  in  the  county  in  which  he  was  born,  and  the  only 
education  he  had  for  a  start  in  life  was  what  he  obtained  in  the  common 
schools  of  that  period;  and  this  suggests  the  fact,  so  common  in  our 
country,  that  the  successful  career  of  Mr.  Talcott  was  the  result  of  his 
own  personal  exertions;  in  other  words,  that  he  was  a  self-made  man.  In 
1834  he  came  to  Chicago,  a  mere  youth,  but  with  a  brave  heart.  The 
Western  country  was  just  such  an  expanse  of  territory  and  presentation 
of  opportunities  that  such  an  enterprising  spirit  craved.  At  that  time 
Illinois  was  the  frontier  whose  invitation  to  come  was  only  to  the  stout- 
hearted and  the  devotedly  industrious.  Young  Talcott  fully  comprehended 
this,  and  with  a  strong  physical  constitution  and  two  willing  hands  as  the 
extent  of  his  capital,  he  bade  farewell  to  the  home  of  his  boyhood  and 
started  for  the  future  metropolis  of  the  prairies.  Reaching  Detroit,  he 
left  the  boat,  and  on  foot  crossed  the  Peninsula  of  Michigan  to  the  spot 
on  which  he  made  such  an  enviable  record.  Having  been  reared  upon 
a  farm,  it  was  natural  that  upon  his  arrival  here,  his  thoughts  should  have 
been  directed  toward  agriculture,  especially  as  the  town  at  that  time  gave 
faint  promise  of  becoming  a  great  commercial  center.  Accordingly  he 
settled  upon  a  farm  in  Park  Ridge,  where  he  remained  from  1841  to  1850 
when  attracted  by  the  developments  in  California,  he  went  thither,  spend  • 
ing  nearly  two  years  on  that  western  limit  of  the  continent.  But  Chicago 
was  destined  to  be  the  place  where  he  should  achieve  his  life's  success, 
and  he  returned  to  his  farm,  not,  however,  v/ithout  bringing  with  him 
from  the  Golden  State,  a  considerable  fortune  as  the  reward  for  his  enter- 
prise. 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  ij: 

In  1854  he  formed  a  copartnership  with  Horace  M.  Singer,  and  the 
two — who  were  warmly  attached  to  each  other — founded  the  Talcott  & 
Singer  Stone  Company,  which  developed  into  a  concern  of  large  dimen- 
sions, and  with  which  Mr.  Talcott  was  identified  from  the  date  of  its 
organization  to  the  time  of  his  death.  In  addition  to  his  business  in  this 
connection,  he  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  First  National  Bank  of 
Chicago,  of  which  he  was  a  director  as  long  as  he  lived.  He  was,  also, 
for  several  years  president  of  the  Union  Stock  Yards  National  Bank,  and 
president  of  the  Excelsior  Stone  Company,  besides  being  connected  with 
other  important  local  business  enterprises. 

Politically  Mr.  Talcott  was  a  strong  Republican,  and  as  such  was 
elected  an  alderman  in  1863,  serving  one  year.  In  1865  he  was  again 
elected  to  the  council,  in  which  he  remained  for  two  years.  In  Novem- 
ber, 1871,  when  the  old  Board  of  Supervisors  went  out  of  existence,  and 
the  first  Board  of  County  Commissioners  was  elected,  he  was  chosen 
a  member  of  that  body.  Soon  after  his  election  he  was  urged  to  accept 
the  position  of  Police  Commissioner,  made  vacant  by  the  resignation  of 
T.  B.  Brown,  and  reluctantly  consenting,  he  was  elected  by  the  County 
Board,  December  I4th,  1871,  resigning  his  membership  of  that  body  on 
the  same  day.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Police  Board  until  December, 
1872,  acting  as  its  president,  for  which  position  he  was  selected  imme- 
diately upon  his  becoming  a  member. 

After  his  retirement  as  Police  Commissioner,  he  kept  aloof  from 
politics,  although  his  name  was  frequently  mentioned  in  connection  with 
public  office,  notably  with  the  Mayoralty.  In  fact,  Mr.  Talcott  was. 
never  a  politician.  He  possessed  none  of  the  elements  of  the  successful 
political  aspirant.  He  was  too  honest  and  straightforward  to  permit  the 
substitution  of  policy  for  an  open  declaration  of  principles  upon  all 
occasions  and  under  all  circumstances.  He  was  not  a  time-server  in  any 
sense,  but  one  of  those  grand  characters  which  in  times  of  peace  and  quiet 
less  meritorious  persons  easily  distance  in  the  political  arena,  but  to  which 
the  community  instinctively  turn  and  cling  when  the  storms  rage  and 
dangers  threaten. 

Mr.  Talcott  died  June  ^th,  1878,  leaving  a  widow,  whose  maiden 
name  was  Mary  H.  Otis,  and  whom  he  married  at  Park  Ridge,  October 
25th,  1841.  Although  their  union  was  never  blessed  with  children,  they 
educated  several  and  reared  them  to  maturity.  Mrs.  Talcott  is  a  lady 
of  superior  character,  and  was  a  charming  light  in  her  husband's  rugged 
pathway  to  success.  Like  her  husband^  she  is  of  noble  nature  and  gener- 
ous impulses,  and  not  only  took  supreme  delight  in  his  sympathies  for  the 
unfortunate,  and  his  expenditures  for  the  promotion  of  the  public  interests, 
but  since  his  death  has  been  the  dispenser  of  large  and  most  commendable 
charity.  In  Central  Park  stands  an  elegant  fountain  which  was  a  gift 
from  Mrs.  Talcott  to  the  Illinois  Humane  Society,  and  intended  as  a  monu- 
ment to  the  memory  of  her  husband,  the  warm  sympathies  of  whose 
large  heart  extended  even  to  the  dumb  animal.  A  more  fitting  memorial 


176  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

could  scarcely  have  been  devised,  and  an  admirer  of  him  whose  nobility 
of  heart  the  fountain  commemorates,  has  fitly  sung: 
"Softly  the  spray  is  falling, 

Over  this  honored  and  cherished  name; 
And  the  rays  of  the,  pulsing  sunset, 

An  aureola  of  fame; 
Hover  like  a  benediction, 

Above  this  cenotaph  of  purity, 
Emblematic  of  a  life  that  was  spent, 

In  boundless  humanity. 
Not  only  a  friend  to  mankind, 

But  also  a  friend  to  the  brute; 
Helping  those  who  could  not  help  themselves, 

Speaking  for  the  speechless  mute; 
This  voice  which  plead  for  humanity's  cause, 

Is  silent,  and  we  hear  no  more, 
Save  the  still  small  voice  in  the  fountain  spray, 

Like  an  angel's  whisper  from  the  other  shore." 

In  the  death  of  Mancel  Talcott,  the  city  of  Chicago  lost  a  citizen 
of  unsurpassable  worth;  society  was  deprived  of  a  safeguard  that  was  as 
reliable  as  the  rocks,  and  humanity  was  compelled  to  give  up  a  friend 
whose  love  for  the  human  race  was  boundless  and  unselfish.  He  rests 
amidst  the  beauties  of  Rose  Hill,  respected  and  loved  by  all  who  are 
familiar  with  his  character;  but  although  the  lips  are  silent,  the  influence 
of  his  life  will  never  cease  to  be  felt  while  Chicago  has  an  existence. 


MARTIN  NELSON  KIMBELL. 

Martin  Nelson  Kimbell,  one  of  the  oldest,  most  prominent  and 
respected  citizens  of  Chicago,  is  the  son  of  Abel  Kimbell  and  Maria 
Powell,  and  was  born  at  Stillwater,  Saratoga  county,  New  York,  January 
24th,  1812.  His  father  was  of  English  and  Scotch,  and  his  mother  of 
English  Quaker  and  Dutch  descent,  and  our  subject  has  thus  inherited  the 
sturdy  principles  of  a  richly  endowed  ancestry,  which  have  combined  to 
form  the  character  that  has  been  the  foundation  of  a  life  of  honor  and 
usefulness.  The  first  six  years  of  Mr.  Kimbell's  life  were  passed  in  his 
native  county,  the  following  eight  years  in  Bradford  county,  Pennsylvania, 
and  the  balance  of  his  minority  in  Tioga  county,  New  York.  Until  he 
was  sixteen  years  of  age  he  enjoyed  no  school  privileges  whatever;  but 
from  that  time  until  he  attained  his  majority  he  attended  school  in  the  log 
school  house  of  those  primitive  times,  three  months  in  every  year,  and 
from  the  age  of  twenty-one  to  twenty-two  he  was  uninterruptedly  in 
school  for  a  year.  During  the  nine  months  of  the  year  he  was  out  of  school 
he  was  engaged  at  hard  work,  either  on  the  farm  or  lumbering  in  the 
Woods.  After  finishing  the  continuous  year  of  schooling,  he  entered 
Bpon  the  business  of  teaching  in  Tioga  county,  which  he  continued  until 
he  determined  to  seek  the  New  West,  with  its  dangers,  its  hardships  and 
its  opportunities.  On  the  eighth  of  September,  1836,  he  started  from  his 
home  on  foot  for  Buffalo;  thence  he  went  to  Detroit,  and  from  there 
walked  to  St.  Joseph,  Michigan,  reaching  Chicago  after  a  hard  journey, 
which  consumed  twenty-seven  days  of  time.  Upon  his  arrival  his  entire 
pecuniary  resources  were  represented  by  five  dollars  and  three  shillings, 
a  capital  which  even  under  far  more  favorable  circumstances  would  have 
given  little  hope  to  its  possessor  of  establishing  himself  in  successful 
business.  But  if  he  had  little  money  he  possessed  an  abundance  of  energy, 
the  spirit  of  ambition  and  a  robust  physical  constitution,  and  these  served 
him  well  in  the  existing  emergency.  In  less  than  two  years  from  the 
hour  of  his  setting  foot  in  Chicago  we  find  him  in  possession  of  and  living 
upon  a  farm  in  what  is  now  known  as  the  town  of  Jefferson,  one  mile 
northwest  of  the  city  limits,  and  v/here  he  has  resided  ever  since.  In 
connection  with  his  farming  operations  he  was  engaged  in  contracting 
and  jobbing  until  1870,  five  years  of  which  time  he  was  superintendent 
of  the  Northwestern  Plank  Road  Company,  building  twenty-two  miles 
of  that  road,  principally  on  Milwaukee  avenue.  He  also  opened  and  built  in 


i^8  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

1855  the  first  plank  road  through  Lake  View.  He  was  also  engaged  for 
a  time  in  banking  and  in  the  tanning  business. 

Mr.  Kimbell  has  held  various  town  and  school  offices,  and  being 
a  member  of  the  Board  of  Supervisors  in  1850-1,  he  was  connected  with 
the  construction  of  the  original  stone  court  house.  At  the  present  writing 
he  is  president  of  the  Union  Hide  and  Leather  Company,  vice  president 
of  the  Joliet  Mound  Company,  and  director  in  the  National  Bank  of  Illinois; 
and  in  every  position,  public  or  private,  that  he  has  occupied,  his  basis 
of  action  was  the  belief  that  permanent  prosperity  could  be  best  secured 
by  honesty,  industry  and  economy;  and  his  success  in  life,  as  well  as  the 
universal  regard  in  which  he  is  held  by  his  fellow  citizens,  attest  the  wis- 
dom of  this  creed.  In  the  midst  of  a  competence  accumulated  through 
his  own  untiring  industry,  with  a  home  that  has  been  built  and  beautified 
by  himself,  and  possessed  of  an  untarnished  name,  his  fidelity  to  principle 
has  borne  such  a  beautiful  and  bountiful  harvest,  that  the  young  man 
seeking  a  pattern  for  life  need  go  no  further.  Few,  perhaps,  who  will 
read  this  sketch  will  ever  be  summoned  to  carve  fortune  and  fame  under 
circumstances  as  unfavorable  and  discouraging  as  those  which  surrounded 
our  subject  forty-four  years  ago;  but  should  they  be,  there  is  no  exclusive 
proprietorship  to  the  motto:  honesty,  industry  and  economy;  nor  is  there 
any  reason  why  its  adoption,  either  under  unfavorable  or  favorable  circum- 
stances, should  not  result  as  grandly  as  in  the  case  of  Mr.  Kimbell. 

In  deeds  of  charity,  patriotism  and  humanity,  Mr.  Kimbell's  life  has 
been  exceedingly  fertile.  The  Universalist  denomination,  with  which  he 
is  in  sympathy,  has  been  greatly  favored  by  his  bounty,  he  having  con- 
tributed, in  proportion  to  his  means,  to  build  three  Universalist  churches 
in  Chicago.  He  devoted  three  years  time  and  expended  considerable 
money  to  the  care,  comfort  and  encouragement  of  the  Union  soldiers  in 
the  South,  during  the  war  of  the  rebellion,  and  all  through  his  life  he  has 
shown  his  readiness  to  respond,  to  the  extent  of  his  ability,  to  calls  of  duty 
by  the  church,  the  State  and  mankind. 

On  the  thirtieth  of  August,  1837,  Mr.  Kimbell  was  married  to  Sarah 
A.  Smalley,  who  came  to  Chicago  at  the  same  time  he  did.  The  marriage 
ceremony  was  performed  at  Chicago,  by  Esquire  Howe,  whose  office  was 
on  Dearborn  street,  opposite  the  present  Tremont  House,  and  to  reach 
which  the  groom  and  bride  were  compelled  to  walk  a  single  sixteen-foot 
plank,  which  spanned  a  deep  mud  hole  in  front  of  the  place.  Eight 
children  have  blessed  this  union :  Charles  B.,  forty-one  years,  now  treas- 
urer of  the  Singer  &  Talcott  Stone  Company,  with  which  company  he 
has  been  connected  for  twenty-four  years ;  Julius  Wads  worth,  forty  years, 
now  living  on  the  old  homestead;  Spencer  Smalley,  thirty-eight  years,  and 
for  twenty  years  prominently  connected  with  the  stone  trade  of  Chicago; 
Ann  M.  Stryker,  thirty-six  years,  wife  of  Jacob  Stryker,  superintendent 
of  the  Joliet  Mound  Company;  Sarah  Angeline,  thirty-four  years,  now 
residing  at  the  old  home;  Frank  A.,  thirty-two  years,  of  Grinnell,  Iowa; 
Martin  N.,  Jr.,  twenty-six  years,  who  is  carrying  on  the  old  farm;  Edward 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  179 

.  C.,  twenty-four  years,  of  Denver,  Colorado.  The  three  oldest  sons  served 
with  credit  during  the  war,  in  Battery  A,  First  Illinois  Artillery,  being 
among  the  first  to  enlist  for  the  defense  of  their  country.  Charles  B.  was 
dangerously  wounded  at  the  battle  of  Shiloh,  from  the  effects  of  which 
he  has  never  entirely  recovered. 

It  would  seem  that  a  life  which  has  been  so  eventful  and  successful 
as  the  one  we  have  been  thus  briefly  sketching,  must  be  regarded  with 
peculiar  satisfaction  by  him  to  whom  it  belongs.  But  the  most  successful 
men  are  wont  to  regret  that  they  have  not  been  more  so,  and  doubtless 
as  noble  a  man  as  Mr.  Kimbell  is  no  exception  to  the  rule.  But  in  no 
case  were  such  feelings  ever  more  groundless.  His  has  been  a  life  of 
grand  achievement,  of  lasting  beneficial  influence  upon  this  community, 
and  of  elevated  example  to  mankind.  Surrounded  by  an  interesting  and 
promising  family,  at  the  old  homestead  on  Christmas  day — the  one  day 
of  the  year  on  which  a  grand  family  reunion  is  always  held  at  the  Jefferson 
farm — with  a  fortune,  as  Mr.  Kimbell  himself  expresses  it,  of  "a  com- 
fortable competence,  every  debt  paid  in  full  and  twenty  grandchildren," 
his  name  chiseled  upon  the  growth  of  magnificent  Chicago,  and  honored  by 
kindred  and  by  all  who  are  familiar  with  his  character  and  achievements, 
no  man  could  find  greater  reason  to  be  satisfied  with  himself,  and  to  none 
should  the  greetings  of  the  merry  Christmas  bells,_proclaiming  "peace  on 
earth  good  will  toward  man,"  be  sweeter  or  diviner  melody. 


iSo 


TREAT  T.   PROSSER. 


Some  one  has  said  that  there  are  few  tasks  more  difficult  than  to 
sketch  the  life  of  an  inventor.  The  world  is  so  jealous  of  innovation  and 
improvement  upon  established  methods,  so  wedded  to  the  customs  of  the 
ages  past,  and  withal  so  disinclined  to  recognize  the  brilliancy  of  more 
practical  genius,  that  the  mechanical  engineer  who  discovers  deficiencies 
in  practical  mechanics  and  supplies  them,  often  goes  to  his  grave  unre- 
warded even  by  the  gratitude  of  the  world  he  has  benefited.  He  hears 
the  name  of  the  warrior,  the  statesman,  the  poet  and  even  the  politician 
sung  in  every  household  he  enters  or  business  mart  he  visits,  but  his  own, 
if  mentioned  at  all,  is,  perhaps,  in  derision,  and  as  that  of  one  who  is  build- 
ing castles  without  foundation  and  following  the  delusions  of  a  dream. 
The  history  of  invention  records  that  there  has  been  a  very  general  recog- 
nition of  such  injustice  and  a  most  heroic  submission  to  it  upon  the  part  of 
inventors.  Valuable  innovators,  while  deeply  feeling  the  lack  of  apprecia- 
tion, have  usually  quietly  adopted  the  feelings  of  Kepler,  who  said :  "My 
work  is  done;  it  can  well  wait  a  century  for  its  readers,  since  God  waited 
full  six  thousand  years  before  there  came  a  man  capable  of  comprehending 
and  admiring  His  work."  Now  and  then,  however,  genius  is  so  practical 
and  its  fruits  contrast  so  brilliantly  with  what  has  preceded,  that  it  compels 
recognition  and  homage.  Happily  this  has  been  true  of  the  subject  of 
this  sketch.  He  has  lived  to  see  the  results  of  his  thought  and  mastery 
of  mechanics  in  daily  operation  in  our  machine  shops,  and  in  other  positions 
where  the  best  class  of  machinery  is  in  use. 

Treat  T.  Prosser  is  the  son  of  Potter  A.  and  Eliza  Prosser,  and  was 
born  in  Avon,  Livingston  county,  New  York,  January  22d,  1827.  His 
youth  and  early  manhood  were  spent  in  his  native  State,  and  he  was  edu- 
cated in  the  common  schools,  and  at  the  Academy  in  West  Avon,  at  which 
he  became  a  student  after  he  had  attained  his  majority.  Always  handy  in 
the  use  of  tools,  when  only  fourteen  years  old  he  was  engaged  in  the 
trade  of  a  millwright,  in  which  he  became  a  proficient  workman.  But 
while  his  hands  were  dilligently  engaged  in  this  business,  and  his  mind 
was  grasping  its  details  and  necessities,  his  thoughts  were  wandering  out 
upon  the  whole  domain  of  mechanical  science,  and  he  determined  to  enter 
a  higher  and  broader  sphere  of  mechanical  usefulness.  This  spirit  has 
actuated  him  through  all  his  life;  and  his  studies  at  the  Academy  were  for 
the  purpose  of  better  fitting  him  for  a  successful  career  in  the  path  in 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  181 

which  he  had  decided  to  walk.  From  the  young  millwright  has  developed 
an  inventor  of  agricultural  implements  of  great  value ;  of  a  superior  system 
of  machinery  for  the  manufacture  of  bolts;  of  universally  recognized  im- 
provements upon  steam  engines;  practical  and  widely  used  machinery  for 
pegging  boots;  of  coal  machinery;  of  the  Prosser  cylinder  car — which 
promises  to  revolutionize  the  system  of  transportation — and  of  other 
mechanical  devices  which  either  are  or  will  become,  upon  common  princi- 
ples of  reasoning,  of  vast  benefit  to  mankind. 

Mr.  Prosser  came  to  Chicago  in  the  Spring  of  1851,  and  with  the 
exception  of  two  years,  which  he  spent  in  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  a 
short  visit  to  Europe,  he  has  lived  here  ever  since.  He  was  the  first  man 
'to  introduce  the  steam  engine  and  the  quartz  mill  in  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
The  engine  was  constructed  by  him  on  this  frontier  of  civilization  of 
material  which  had  been  forwarded  from  the  East,  the  boiler  being  literally 
built  in  that  wild  region.  While  in  Europe  he  was  elected  a  member  of 
the  Society  of  Mechanics  and  Engineers  of  England  and  Scotland,  an 
honor  which  speaks  much  more  distinctly  of  his  merits  as  a  mechanical 
engineer  than  it  is  within  the  province  of  the  pen  to  do. 

The  fire  of  1871  marked  Mr.  Prosser  as  one  of  its  victims,  and  like  so 
many  others,  he  lost  his  well  earned  accumulations  of  years  of  enterprise. 
With  his  pecuniary  fortune  the  flames  had  played  sad  havoc,  but  the 
energy  which  he  so  early  manifested  in  life,  and  his  sterling  character 
remained.  With  these  he  began  life  anew,  and  has  enjoyed  an  eminently 
satisfactory  prosperity  since  recovering  from  the  misfortune  which  he,  his 
fellow  citizens  and  his  city  alike  suffered. 

Mr.  Prosser's  domestic  life  is  as  unostentatious  as  himself,  but  his  home  is 
one  of  quiet  elegance  and  contentment.  His  wife — whose  maiden  name  was 
Lucy  J.  Phillips,  and  whom  he  married  at  West  Bloomfield,  New  York,  in 
the  Fall  of  1850 — is  a  lady  whose  character  is  reflected  in  the  appointments 
of  the  beautiful  home  over  which  she  presides.  Henry  Blinn,  a  son,  is  as- 
sociated with  his  father  in  business,  and  Mary,  a  daughter,  is  a  young  lady 
whose  presence  is  a  sunbeam  in  an  exceptionably  happy  family  circle. 

The  honors  of  public  office  and  their  accompanying  hardships  have 
always  been  at  the  option  of  Mr.  Prosser.  But  he  has  been  so  closely 
wedded  to  his  profession  that  under  ordinary  circumstances  he  has  refused 
the  responsibilities  of  official  position.  Once  elected  to  the  Illinois  State 
Board  of  Equalization  of  Taxes,  he  declined  the  honor.  After  the  great 
fire,  however,  he  did  accept  the  position  of  superintendent  of  the  dis- 
tribution of  food  to  the  destitute,  first  in  district  four,  and  afterward  in 
district  five.  He  performed  the  duties  of  this  position  in  such  an  excep- 
tional manner  that  no  word  of  complaint  was  ever  uttered. 

Thus  closes  this  very  deficient  outline  of  Mr.  Prosser's  life.  The 
tyranny  of  limited  space  forbids  a  greater  record  of  facts,  which  is  a  mis- 
fortune to  the  reader,  and  especially  to  him  who  might  find  additional 
features  in  a  fully  painted  character  and  career  like  those  which  belong  to 
our  subject,  to  teach  that  a  humble  boy,  if  gifted,  can  succeed  in  life. 


1 82 


HIRAM  H,  SCOVILLE. 


The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  in  Litchfield  county,  Connecticut, 
January  3d,  1 795,  and  when  an  infant  was  taken  by  his  parents  to  Onon- 
daga  county,  New  York,  where  they  settled  on  a  farm  near  Syracuse. 
His  youthful  days  were  spent  in  working  on  the  farm  in  Summer  and 
attending  school  in  Winter.  On  reaching  his  majority  he  determined  to 
engage  in  mechanical  engineering,  for  which,  as  since  shown,  he  was 
peculiarly  adapted.  In  accordance  with  this  determination  he  entered  a 
foundry  and  machine  shop  in  Syracuse,  and  during  an  apprenticeship 
perfected  himself  in  all  the  details  of  the  business.  In  1822,  with  two 
other  young  men,  he  built  a  small  steamboat  which  he  put  in  practical 
operation  on  Cazenovia  lake;  subsequently  it  was  transferred  to  the  Erie 
canal,  which  had  been  completed  a  short  time  previous.  As  a  financial 
speculation  this  enterprise  was  not  a  success;  and,  at  the  request  of  the 
State  authorities,  the  engine  was  taken  out  and  used  in  pumping  brine 
from  the  salt  wells  at  Salina. 

Mr.  Scoville,  in  1837,  came  to  Chicago  to  superintend  the  construc- 
tion of  a  marine  engine  for  a  large  lake  steamer — one  of  the  floating 
palaces  that  were  the  rage  thirty-five  or  forty  years  ago;  but  before  the 
work  was  completed  the  financial  panic  that  swept  through  the  country 
that  year,  caused  a  cessation  of  all  building  operations,  and  steamboat 
building  was  among  the  first  to  succumb.  As  soon  as  the  money  strin- 
gency abated,  however,  a  smaller  vessel,  the  James  Allen,  was  built  under 
his  supervision. 

Subsequently  he  became  a  contractor  on  the  Illinois  and  Michigan 
canal,  which  was  then  in  process  of  construction,  in  partnership  with 
Captain  William  H.  Avery,  and  remained  with  it  until  work  was 
suspended  on  account  of  the  financial  troubles  in  which  the  State  was 
involved.  He  then  resolved  to  make  a  permanent  settlement  in  Chicago, 
and  with  his  son-in-law,  P.  W.  Gates,  established  a  large  foundry  and 
machine  shop,  under  the  firm  name  of  Scoville  &  Gates.  He  withdrew 
from  this  partnership  in  1848,  and  started  in  business  with  his  sons,  having 
purchased  a  lot  of  William  B.  Ogden  on  the  corner  of  Canal  and  Adams 
streets,  the  present  center  of  the  new  passenger  depot  of  the  Chicago, 
Pittsburgh  and  Fort  Wayne  railway. 

About  this  time  the  Galena  and  Chicago  Union  Railroad  Company 
commenced  laying  its  track,  and  to  the  firm  of  Scoville  &  Sons  was 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  183 

awarded  the  contract  for  freight  and  passenger  cars,  the  sample  car  having 
been  brought  across  the  lake  by  vessel,  as  were  the  first  two  locomotives, 
the  "Pioneer"  and  "John  Bull." 

Messrs.  Scoville  &  Sons  contracted  with  the  Galena  and  Chicago 
Railroad  Company  for  building  a  number  of  locomotives,  the  first 
of  which,  the  "Enterprise,"  being  the  first  locomotive  engine  built  west  of 
the  Allegheny  mountains,  and  was  fully  up  to  the  standard  of  locomotive 
engines  of  that  date.  In  1855  Mr.  Scoville  retired  from  active  business, 
leaving  the  enterprise  he  had  so  successfully  established  to  his  son,  a 
sketch  of  whose  life  follows.  To  Mr.  Scoville  belongs  the  credit  of 
many  useful  inventions,  among  them  the  cam  motion  for  the  self  raking 
reapers,  the  patent  office  records  showing  his  patent  as  being  the  first  in 
that  direction,  and  the  same  device  has  been  used  by  all  the  manufactur- 
ers of  reaping  machines  to  date.  Mr.  Scoville  died  March  28th,  1879, 
having  passed  a  busy  and  successful  life,  and  having  been  one  of  the  pi- 
oneer settlers  who  laid  the  foundation  of  this  city  of  a  half  a  million  peo- 
pie 


184 


HIRAM  H.  SCOVILLE,  JR. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  the  son  of  Hiram  H.  Scoville,  a  sketch 
of  whose  life  immediately  precedes,  and  of  Mary  Elizabeth  Sherman.  He 
was  born  at  Syracuse,  in  the  State  of  New  York,  February  i9th,  1833. 
When  four  years  of  age  he  came  with  his  parents  to  Chicago,  and  with 
the  exception  of  six  years  from  1860,  during  which  time  he  was  in  Colo- 
rado engaged  in  erecting  and  operating  mining  machinery,  he  has  resided 
here  ever  since.  His  education  was  obtained  in  the  schools  of  the  city, 
and  his  successful  life  can  be  largely  attributed  to  the  training  which  his 
naturally  quick  mind  received  under  Chicago's  fine  educational  system. 

The  son  of  one  of  the  finest  mechanical  engineers  that  the  West  has 
ever  had,  and  possessed  of  natural  abilities  of  a  mechanical  turn,  he  early 
developed  a  taste  and  adaptation  for  his  father's  pursuit,  and  entered  upon  a 
regular  apprenticeship  in  which,  he  thoroughly  perfected  himself  in  the 
details  of  the  profession  to  which  he  has  been  devoted  through  life.  For 
seven  years  he  was  associated  with  his  father  and  an  older  brother,  under 
the  firm  name  of  H.  H.  Scoville  &  Sons,  in  the  manufacture  of  steam 
engines  and  general  machinery,  and  upon  the  retirement  of  his  father  from 
active  business  he  succeeded  to  the  sole  proprietorship  of  the  Scoville  Iron 
Works,  which  he  has  since  managed  with  signal  success,  increasing  their 
capacity  as  the  spread  of  their  fame  increased  the  demand  for  the  Scoville 
machinery,  until  this  pioneer  establishment  of  its  kind  has  become  one  of 
the  largest  in  the  country. 

Mr.  Scoville  was  at  one  time  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Charles  Reissig 
&  Company,  and  while  such  he  erected  the  iron  reservoirs  on  the  corner 
of  Monroe  and  Morgan  streets  and  on  Chicago  avenue,  which  the  city 
built  when  water  was  first  introduced,  and  to  which  refe^nce  is  made  in 
the  chapter  upon  that  subject.  As  already  noticed  in  the  sketch  of  Mr. 
Scoville,  Sr.,  the  first  locomotives  built  in  Chicago  were  constructed  by 
the  Scovilles,  and  these  being  under  the  immediate  supervision  of  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch,  their  acknowledged  excellence  is  something  of  which 
he  may  justly  feel  proud.  Being  a  pioneer  locomotive  builder  of  the 
West,  although  yet  a  young  man,  few  men  can  claim  the  honor  of  starting 
a  more  important  industry  in  Chicago. 

In  September,  1859,  Mr.  Scoville  was  married  at  Chicago  to  Eliza 
M.  Barnes,  and  has  an  interesting  family  of  four  children,  Belle,  twenty 
years  of  age,  Jessie,  seventeen,  Annie,  eleven  and  Edna,  three. 


E.  J.  LEHMANN. 

It4  is  the  enterprise  and  character  of  the  citizen  that  enrich  and 
ennoble  the  commonwealth.  Natural  advantages  may  be  never  so  many, 
beautiful  and  easily  available,  yet  without  the  throbbing  of  thought  and 
the  touch  of  skill  they  will  be  like  flowers  blushing  amidst  the  desolation 
of  a  deserted  ruin.  The  extensive  commerce  of  Chicago,  her  palatial  stores 
and  massive  warehouses,  her  magnificent  churches  and  school  structures, 
her  railroads,  parks  and  boulevards  have  not  made  the  citizen,  but  the 
citizen  has  created  them.  From  individual  enterprise  has  sprung  all 
the  splendors  and  importance  of  this  metropolis  of  the  West;  and  in  the 
counting  rooms  of  our  merchants  is  found  a  large  proportion  of  the  men 
and  intellect  that  are  advancing  this  great  city  to  more  imposing  greatness, 
and  adding  luster  to  the  fame  of  our  proud  State  and  powerful  nation. 
What  is  conspicuously  noticeable,  too,  among  this  class  of  our  community, 
is  that  they  have  carved  fortune  and  fame  from  nothing  except  their  own 
strength  of  character  and  uprightness  of  action.  Our  greatest  merchants 
have  developed  from  the  humblest  origins.  From  clerkships  have 
emerged  the  men  who  have  built  our  most  elegant  edifices  from  the  profits 
of  our  grandest  business  enterprises,  which  they  conceived  and  now  con- 
duct. Chicago  is  a  self-made  city,  and  those  who  have  created  it  are 
self-made  men.  No  influence  of  birth  or  fortune  has  favored  the  archi- 
tects of  Chicago's  glory.  If  the  merchant  has  been  prosperous  his 
prosperity  may  be  solely  attributed  to  that  with  which  nature  has  endowed 
him,  and  to  none  of  the  peculiar  influences  which  operate  in  older  portions 
of  the  world  to  give  a  young  man  a  start  and  to  buoy  him  up  all  through 
his  business  career.  The  history  of  human  success  has  shown  that  only 
in  exceptional  instances  has  natural  ability,  legitimately  applied,  failed  of  a 
legitimate  measure  of  achievement.  Failures  may  have  come,  but  they 
were  temporary;  success  may  sometimes  have  been  long  postponed,  but 
the  daybreak  finally  spread  itself  upon  the  gloom ;  and  in  the  entire  history 
of  the  world  there  is  no  clearer  record  of  the  fact  that  he  who  merits 
victory  will  win  it  than  is  found  in  the  history  of  Chicago. 

The  gentleman  who  is  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  and  who  is  one  of 
our  prominent  and  rising  merchants,  is  no  exception  to  the  rule  that  has 
been  stated.  Occupying  an  enviable  position  in  the  business  circles  of  the 
city,  with  a  business  that  necessitates  the  occupancy  of  two  large  buildings 
on  one  of  the  most  prominent  corners,  and  with  a  credit  that  is  unques- 


i86  CHICAGO  AND  ITS   DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

tioned  and  unquestionable,  he  began  life  as  a  bell  boy  in  a  hotel,  and  was 
serving  in  that  capacity  no  longer  ago  than  1861.  Twenty  years  have 
made  many  marvelous  changes  in  this  country,  but  we  doubt  if  any  present 
themselves  to  Mr.  Lehmann  in  a  more  marvelous  character  than  the  rise  of 
the  bell  boy  of  1861.  At  that  early  age,  however,  he  developed  the  two 
traits  of  character  which  have  distinguished  him  in  all  his  later  life — strict 
fidelity  to  the  discharge  of  duty  and  an  ambition  to  make  his  mark  in  the 
world.  With  the  vast  majority  of  boys,  in  his  situation,  the  former  would 
have  been  of  much  easier  accomplishment  than  the  latter.  It  is  a  brave 
lad,  who  without  influence  or  means,  steps  from  the  humble  position  of 
bell  boy,  into  the  busy  world  and  commences  business  for  himself.  Young 
Lehmann,  however,  had  the  necessary  courage  to  do  it,  and  the  necessary 
energy  to  achieve  success.  First  joining  that  interesting  fraternity,  the 
bootblacks — from  whose  ranks  have  really  come  many  of  our  representa- 
tive men — the  boy  of  a  dozen  years  humbly  commenced  business  for 
himself.  But  this  sphere  was  too  limited,  and  he  soon  engaged  in  the 
business  of  a  general  peddler.  To  those  who  knew  his  peculiarities,  how- 
ever, it  was  evident  that  these  temporary  schemes  must  be  quickly 
supplanted  by  something  of  a  more  permanent  nature;  and  they  were.  In 
1863  we  find  him,  although  still  a  boy,  engaged  in  the  jewelry  business. 
In  this  he  continued  until  1870,  making  considerable  money,  but  meeting 
with  some  reverses.  Considering  his  age,  however,  his  success  was 
certainly  remarkable,  and  would  have  been  impossible  but  for  his  extra- 
ordinary natural  endowments.  In  1871  he  entered  upon  the  business  of 
buying  and  selling  all  kinds  of  merchandise,  in  which  he  is  still  engaged, 
and  which  from  a  small  beginning  he  has  built  up  to  immense  proportions. 
In  his  store,  which  he  calls  "The  Fair,"  at  the  corner  of  State  and  Adams 
streets,  can  be  found  almost  any  article  that  can  be  thought  of,  and  of  any 
quality  from  fair  to  the  best.  No  establishment  in  the  entire  city  has  a 
larger  number  of  visitors  during  business  hours.  Some  go  to  buy  and 
others  go  to  see,  and  from  morning  until  night  there  is  a  throng  oi 
humanity  passing  in  and  out,  being  of  itself- not  the  least  interesting  feature 
of  the  place. 

The  young  man  who  has  thus  risen  from  obscurity  to  prominence, 
and  from  poverty  to  affluence,  was  born  in  Mecklenburg,  Germany,  the 
twenty-seventh  of  February,  1849,  and  is  the  son  of  the  late  John  Leh- 
mann— who  died  in  Chicago  in  the  Spring  of  1880 — and  M.  Belson. 
When  ten  years  of  age  he  came  with  his  parents  to  Chicago,  and  has 
resided  here  ever  since.  His  education  was  obtained  in  our  public  schools. 
In  1870  he  was  married  at  Chicago  to  Augusta  Handt. 

We  have  thus  sketched  a  life  which  is  full  of  encouragement  to  the 

O 

millions  of  boys  who  have  nothing  but  fine  intellects  and  firm  determina- 
tion with  which  to  begin  life.  Position,  influence  and  affluence  in  a 
country  like  ours  are  as  readily  within  the  reach  of  all  as  they  have  been 
within  that  of  E.  J.  Lehmann. 


187 


CHAPTER  XII. 


THE     GREAT     FIRE. 

It  is  a  magnificent  picture  that  we' have  been  outlining  and  embellish- 
ing in  the  plain  statement  of  facts  on  the  preceding  pages.  As  we  follow  the 
rapid  transformations  from  nearly  nothingness  until  a  bewildering  vastness 
•of  beauty,  wealth  and  power  are  represented  in  the  painting,  even  the  dry 
statistics  of  this  volume  read  like  an  exaggerated  but  most  entertaining 
romance.  Upon  the  already  grand  but  modest  picture  of  American  civili- 
zation and  progress  fifty  years  ago,  Chicago  was  the  touch  of  the  artist's 
brush  upon  the  very  outer  edge,  and  if  it  did  not  appear  disfiguring  to  those 
who  had  so  long  been  accustomed  to  look  upon  an  unfinished  picture  as 
perfect,  it  was  probably  thought  to  add  nothing  in  the  way  of  embellish- 
ment. The  beautiful  cities  of  the  East  which  had  been  even  centuries  in 
maturing,  could  not  conceive  it  possible  that  anything  like  themselves 
•could  spring  into  existence  as  if  by  the  influence  of  a  magic  touch.  In 
this  they  were  pardonable.  America  had  been  two  centuries  and  more 
in  becoming  what  she  was  when  Chicago  was  founded.  She  had  slowly 
built  her  Bostons,  and  New  Yorks,  and  Philadelphias,  and  if  she  had  not 
•quickened  her  pace,  and  stimulated  her  thought,  it  would  have  been  cen- 
turies yet  before  the  great  West  would  have  blossomed  as  it  now  does. 
But  she  did  both,  and  did  them  on  this  very  spot.  The  picture  was  imbued 
with  freshness  and  new  life,  and  it  received  these  enlivening  touches  in  the 
shadow  of  Fort  Dearborn.  Although  in  the  West,  it  was  far  enough 
eastward  to  paint  a  rising  sun  upon  the  canvas,  and  to  brighten  with  its 
rays  whatever  was  dull  and  somber  in  the  picture,  as  well  as  to  light  up 
the  hills,  valleys  and  plains  to  the  westward  and  reveal  their  glorious 
possibilities.  The  old  picture  was  to  become  a  new  one.  Bloom  and 
fragrance  were  to  cover  the  mosses  that  a  sterling  but  deliberate  people 
had  permitted  to  crown  the  rocks;  glistening  harvests  were  to  usurp  the 
possessions  of  the  wild  grasses  and  the  forests;  beauty  was  to  spread  itself 
upon  the  deserts,  and  life  was  to  light  up  the  dark  silent  chambers  of 
•death.  When?  .  Almost  at  once;  arid  the  history  of  forty  years  from  the 
organization  of  the  municipality  of  Chicago,  proves  that  these  results  were 
•achieved.  But  Chicago  itself  was  the  brightest  and  most  wonderful  of  all 
the  achievements.  It  has  grown  to  a  metropolis.  It  grew  with  a  dash, 
.and  did  everything  in  the  same  way.  Its  undertakings  were  colossal,  and 
the  world  looked,  wondered  and  admired,  and  concluded  that  whatever 
•Chicago  attempted,  or  whatever  happened  to  it,  must  be  of  lofty  character 


i88  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

and  stupendous  proportions.  But  such  an  estimate  of  its  characteristics 
pertained  to  its  prosperity  alone.  In  the  shadow  of  its  greatness  in 
1871,  serious  misfortune  was  never  contemplated.  That  adversity  should 
ever  be  as  completely  astounding  as  had  been  its  development,  was  far  from 
the  mind  of  the  most  fertile  prophet  of  disaster.  Yet  on  the  ninth  of 
October,  1871,  when  the  proud  city  was  a  desolate  mass-  of  smoking,, 
hissing,  blackened  and  melted  ruins,  and  its  enterprising  citizens  depen- 
dent upon  the  charity  of  a  generous,  sympathizing  world  for  bread,  one 
could  but  exclaim:  Here  was  beheld  an  unparalleled  prosperity — here  is. 
beheld  an  unparalleled  misfortune;  from  nothing  to  magnificence  in  a  day 
— from  magnificence  to  nothing  in  a  night. 

The  great  conflagration  which  worked  such  a  complete  destruction  as 
to  make  such  an  exclamation  appropriate,  started  in  a  small  stable  on  De 
Koven  street,  near  the  corner  of  Jefferson,  in  the  West  Division,  on  Sunday,. 
October  eighth,  at  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening.  The  cause  was  the  smash- 
ing of  a  kerosene  lamp  by  the  kick  of  a  cow  which  was  being  milked.  It 
would  be  idle  to  censure  the  cow,  if  there  were  a  disposition  to  do  so,  but 
the  milker  who  took  the  lamp  into  the  stable  merits  all  the  censure  that 
any  one  or  a  community  wishes  to  bestow,  and  it  has  already  been  very 
great. 

As  if  endeavoring  to  prepare  the  city  for  the  awful  visitation  which 
awaited  it,  what  was  then  regarded  as  an  extensive  conflagration  happened 
on  the  night  previous,  and  the.  Sunday  morning  issues  of  the  city  papers 
devoted  columns  to  the  details  of  a  fire  which  inflicted  a  loss  of  a  full  million 
dollars.  This  fire  was  in  the  West  Division,  and  devastated  the  district 
bounded  by  VanBuren  street  on  the  south — where  it  started — Adams 
street  on  the  north,  the  river  on  the  east  and  Clinton  street  on  the  west- 
The  present  generation  down  to  the  time  of  the  great  Chicago  fire  had 
seen  very  few  conflagrations  that  worked  a  destruction  estimated  at  even 
a  million  dollars.  The  fire  departments  of  the  country  had  been  so- 
thoroughly  organized,  and  were  composed  of  such  sterling  material  that 
even  a  million  dollar  fire  was  thought  to  be  almost  an  impossibility.  We,, 
however,  learned  our  mistake.  The  Chicago  and  Boston  fires  conquered 
as  brave  and  experienced  firemen  as  there  were  in  the  world,  and  after  these 
terrible  misfortunes  the  clanging  of  the  fire  bells  meant  more  to  the  people 
of  the  two  stricken  cities  especially,  and  to  people  generally,  than  it  had 
ever  meant  before.  No  one  who  has  not  passed  through  the  experience,, 
can  fully  conceive  the  feelings  which  such  a  catastrophe  arouses  in  the  souL 
The  people  of  large  cities  are  accustomed  to  legitimate  causes  of  excite- 
ment. There  are  murders,  fires,  accidents,  runaways,  robberies,  and 
turbulence  of  almost  every  conceivable  character,  happening  almost  every 
day,  and  something  of  the  kind  is  occurring  almost  every  hour,  and  the 
populace  compelled  to  witness  such  things,  becomes  accustomed  to  them,, 
and  ceases  to  be  alarmed  by  them.  The  citizen  of  a  quiet  country  village 
walks  through  the  disreputable  districts  of  the  city,  and  is  shocked  beyond 
measure  at  the  scenes  which  pass  before  him;  he  reads  of  a  hundred  cases. 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  189 

of  pestilent  disease  and  trembles;  he  hears  the  fire  alarm,  and  is  impatient 
to  be  assured  of  his  own  safety,  and  then  to  witness  the  conflagration. 
People  in  the  cities  usually  are  calm  and  undemonstrative  under  such  cir- 
cumstances. They  regard  all  such  things  in  a  community  of  half  a  million 
souls  as  a  matter  of  course.  But  when  pestilence  stalks  through  the  streets 
at  noonday,  or  when  there  is  a  carnival  of  crime,  or  the  flames  burst  forth 
and  enwrap  an  entire  city  in  a  sheet  of  fire,  the  commonly  imperturbable 
resident  of  the  city  experiences  a  sensation  of  unsafely  and  unrest  which 
it  would  be  difficult  to  describe.  He  sinks  in  feeling  from  the  position  of 
a  master  to  that  of  a  serf,  from  authority  to  helplessness,  from  confidence 
to  distrust,  from  hope  to  despair.  It  was  a  feeling  thus  imperfectly  des- 
cribed that  made  the  ringing  of  the  fire  bell  after  the  eighth  of  October, 
1871,  in  Chicago,  a  most  thrilling  sound  to  the  man,  woman  or  child  who 
had  been  chased  from  their  homes  by  the  devouring  element  on  that 
memorable  date. 

The  million  dollar  fire  created  great  excitement.  It  was  then  among 
the  largest  of  conflagrations,  with  comparatively  few  exceptions,  that  the 
majority  of  living  people  had  witnessed;  and  although  others,  even  in 
Chicago,  had  been  more  destructive  of  values,  few  anywhere  for  a  number 
of  years  had  made  a  grander  spectacle.  The  flames  rolled  over  the  district 
like  the  waves  of  the  ocean  driven  before  the  tempest,  lapping  up  the  frail, 
pine  wood  buildings,  lumber  piles  and  planing  mills,  and  reducing  one 
fire  engine  to  cinders:  The  fire  ceased  at  the  viaduct  over  the  railroad 
at  Adams  street,  because  there  was  nothing  more  conveniently  at  hand 
to  feed  it. 

On  the  following  evening,  while  many  an  eye  was  upon  the  morning 
journals'  description  of  the  fire  of  the  previous  night,  the  alarm  was 
sounded  for  the  DeKoven  street  fire.  Prompt  as  firemen  always  are  to 
respond  to  an  alarm,  before  the  department  arrived  upon  the  spot,  the 
vicinity  of  DeKoven  and  Jefferson  sti-eets  was  all  ablaze.  A  southwest 
gale  was  driving  the  flames  before  it  with  a  fearful  rapidity.  Northward 
the  flames  sped  their  way  until  all  the  district  lying  between  the  river, 
Jefferson  street  and  the  territory  devastated  by  the  fire  of  the  previous  night 
was  laid  waste.  At  midnight  the  mad  element  leaped  the  river,  and  in 
briefer  time  than  it  requires  to  relate  it,  a  building  of  the  South  Division 
gas  works  was  in  flames.  Now  the  enemy  was  in  the  commercial  portion 
of  the  doomed  city.  The  flames  quickly  reduced  the  surrounding  shanties 
to  ashes ;  on  to  LaSalle  street  they  swept,  consuming  elegant  structures  and 
even  those  which  were  considered  fireproof;  wider  and  wider  grew  the  path 
of  destruction;  higher  and  higher  leaped  the  columns  of  flame,  and  for  miles 
around  the  crimson  shadow  of  the  fiery  carnival  was  painted  on  the  skies. 
Within  an  hour  from  the  ignition  of  the  gas  works  building,  the  Chamber 
of  Commerce  building  was  attacked,  and  quickly  transformed  into  a  ruin. 
Then  came  the  Court  House,  which  resisted  the  attempt  to  destroy  it  for 
nearly  two  hours,  when  it  succumbed,  and  the  great  bell  fell  to  the  ground 
groaning  a  short  but  solemn  funeral  march.  From  the  Court  House  this 


190  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

main  column  of  fire — there  were  two  other  columns  flanking  the  main 
one,  making  the  destruction  distressingly  complete — took  an  easterly 
direction,  destroying  Hooley's  Opera  House,  Crosby's  Opera  House 
and  the  TIMES  newspaper  building.  Just  before  reaching  the  foot  of 
Randolph  street  and  the  Illinois  Central  Depot,  two  branches  of 
the  fire  united,  and  the  elegant  wholesale  stores  in  that  vicinity  and  the 
depot  were  soon  in  ashes.  It  is,  however,  unnecessary  to  designate 
buildings  or  the  course  of  the  three  distinct  columns  of  fire,  for  the  question 
was  not,  What  had  been  destroyed?  but,  Had  there  anything  escaped? 
From  the  gas  works  at  the  corner  of  Adams  and  Market  streets  the  flames 
had  swept  their  way  through  to  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Depot. 
From  near  the  intersection  of  VanBuren  street  and  the  river — two  blocks 
south  of  the  starting  point  of  the  main  column — the  right  column  started. 
Through  a  large  section  of  wooden  buildings,  it  swept  like  a  hurricane  and 
quickly  fastened  upon  the  fine  structures  lying  northward,  and  also  burning 
its  way  southward  one  block  to  Harrison  street,  which  was  about  the 
southern  boundary  of  the  great  fire.  Between  that  boundary  and  its  union 
with  the  central  column,  it  destroyed  nearly  everything  from  the  dark 
line  of  march  which  the  main  column  had  left  to  the  Lake  Front.  The 
left  column  devoured  all  on  the  left  of  the  main  column  which  it  had  spared, 
except  one  building  on  the  river  front,  which  owed  its  preservation  to  its 
isolation. 

Here  was  devastation  as  disheartening  as  blazing  Moscow  was  to  an 
invading  army.  From  northward  to  southward  ten  blocks  had  been 
reduced  to  ashes,  and  from  eastward  to  westward  the  territory  of  nine 
blocks  marked  the  width  of  the  destroyer's  track,  and  this  beside  the  dis- 
trict already  described  as  blighted  in  the  West  Division. 

But  like  an  unchained  demon,  the  fire  was  unsatisfied  with  the  deso- 
lation which  it  had  already  spread,  and  as  if  bent  on  vengeance  upon  those 
who  thought  themselves  safe,  and  stood  admiring  its  rage,  it  leaped  the 
river  to  the  North  Division,  between  three  o'clock  and  four  o'clock  on 
Monday  morning,  and  swept  it  as  with  a  breath.  It  attacked  the  Water 
Works,  the  grain  elevators,  and  buildings  of  less  altitude,  and  the  flames 
rolled  over  the  Division,  and  frolicked  together  as  if  it  were  a  May-day 
spectacle,  instead  of  a  day  of  sorrow.  It  is  difficult  to  give  the  exact 
western  boundary  of  the  fire  in  the  North  Division,  but  it  burned  along 
the  river  to  near  Halsted  street,  and  then  followed  almost  northerly  a 
straight  line  to  Lincoln  Park.  Between  Orchard  street — if  it  ran  through 
to  the  river — on  the  west,  the  lake  on  the  east,  Lincoln  Park  on  the  north, 
and  the  river  on  the  south,  was  a  scene  of  absolute  devastation.  There 
was  nothing  more  to  consume  in  this  direction,  and  the  conflagration  ceased. 
From  the  southern  to  the  northern  limit  four  miles  had  been  burned  over, 
and  from  the  eastern  to  the  western  the  devastated  territory  would  average, 
to  be  within  reasonable  limits,  three  quarters  of  a  mile.  Language 
cannot  convey  a  better  idea  of  Chicago's  terrible  misfortune  than  this  esti- 
mate in  miles  of  the  territory  devastated.  A  city  had  been  destroved,  rich 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  igi 

men  had  become  beggars,  families  were  turned  into  the  streets,  and  a 
cloud  through  whose  murky  darkness  not  a  ray  of  light  penetrated,  lowered 
over  stricken  Chicago. 

The  greater  portion  of  the  West  Division  had  escaped  the  calamity, 
and  nobly  its  people  came  to  the  rescue  of  those  who  were  less  fortunate. 
Churches  were  thrown  open  for  the  dispensation  of  provisions,  and  private 
houses  were  packed  with  those  who  had  had  a  home,  but  had  none  then. 
In  short  what  was  left  of  Chicago  in  either  Division  was  ready  to  succor 
its  unfortunate  fellow  citizens  to  the  utmost  of  its  ability.  But  there  was 
an  overwhelming  application  for  resting  place  and  for  bread;  there  were 
anxieties  to  be  appeased ;  tears  to  be  dried,  heart-aches  to  be  soothed,  and 
innumerable  burdens  to  be  borne  by  others  than  those  upon  whom  they 
were  originally  thrust;  and  what  was  saved  of  Chicago  was  unable  to 
accomplish  the  work.  A  hundred  thousand  people  had  been  made  house- 
less; they  were  gathered  on  the  lake  shore  and  on  the  prairies.  During 
the  scorching  heat  of  the  conflagration,  many  of  them  were  in  the  waters 
of  the  lake,  with  their  heads  only  above  the  water;  mothers  in  childbirth 
were  lying  in  the  open  air,  and  reasonably  fearful  of  destruction;  the 
wildest  excitement  abounded  upon  every  hand;  the  tire  fiend  chased  every 
one  in  its  course  beyond  the  limit  which  it  went;  and  after  it  had  spent  its 
rage,  the  homeless  and  destitute  were  scattered  everywhere — in  mansion, 
cottage,  hovel,  on  prairie  and  on  the  lake  shore. 

The  remnant  of  Chicago  could  not  provide  for  this  destitution.  The 
world  was  appealed  to,  and  it  responded  with  an  alacrity  that  did  credit  to 
humanity ;  it  poured  provisions  into  the  city,  until  there  was  enough  and 
to  spare;  from  the  East  came  trains  that  by  the  orders  of  railroad  managers 
had  the  right  of  way  from  New  York  to  the  city;  from  Europe  came 
supplies,  and  the  question  from  all  the  world  was:  What  do  you  want 
more?  Chicago  will  never  forget  the  kindness  that  was  shown  her  in  the 
hour  of  affliction.  When  she  was  stricken,  the  whole  civilized  world  bade 
her  be  of  good  cheer,  and  offered  to  assist  her  to  arise  from  her  ashes. 
Her  best  expression  of  gratitude  was  that  she  did  arise,  and  that  she  is  the 
most  promising  city  of  America.  She  fell — she  arose. 


192 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


PROMINENT    BUILDINGS    DESTROYED    AND    INDIVIDUAL    LOSSES. 

For  a  convenient  reference  and  to  give  a  more  definite  idea  of  the 
destruction  which  was  wrought  we  give  the  following  alphabetical  list  of 
prominent  buildings  and  business  blocks  which  were  destroyed: 

Academy  of  Design,  Galena  Freight  Depot,  North  Presbyterian  Church, 

Armory  Police  Station,  Galena  Elevator, 

Adams  House,  Grace  Methodist  Church,       Olympic  Theater, 

Bigelow  House,  Hebrew  Synagogue,  Pacific  Hotel, 

Briggs  House,  Hooley's  Opera  House,  Postoffice, 

Booksellers'  Row,  Honore  Block,  Pullman's  Palace  Car  B'ld', 

Palmer  House, 

Cathedral  of  the  Holy  Name, Illinois  Central  Freight  Depot, 
Clifton  House,  Illinois  Central  Elevator  "A,"Revere  House, 

Court  House  and  City  Hall, 

Chamber  of  Commerce,         Lincoln  School,  St.  Joseph's  Catholic  Church, 

Crosby's  Opera  House,  St.  Mary's  Catholic  Church, 

Crosby's  Music  Hall,  Matteson  House,  St.Paul'sUniversalist  Church 

Central  Depot,  McVicker's  Theater,  Sisters  of  Mercy  Convent, 

Moseley  School,  St.  Joseph's  Priory, 

Dearborn  Theater,  Metropolitan  Hall,  St.  James'  Hotel, 

Drake-Farwell  Block,  Metropolitan  Hotel,  Sherman  House, 

Michigan  Southern  Depot,     Sturges'  Building, 
Elm  Street  Hospital,  Merchants  Insurance  B'ld', 

Michigan    Central     Freight  Trinity  Episcopal  Church, 
First  National  Bank,  Depot,  Turner  Hall, 

First  Presbyterian  Church,    McCormick's  Reaper  Works,Tribune  Building, 
Franklin  School,  Munger    &   Armour's     Ele- 

Farwell  Hall,  vator,  Union  National  Bank, 

Field  &  Leiter's  Store,  United  States  Warehouses, 

New     England      Congrega-Unity  Unitarian  Church, 
Gas  Works  on  South  Side,         tional  Church, 

Gas  Works  on  North  Side,     New  Jerusalem  Temple,        Wood's  Museum, 
German  House,  Nevada  Hotel,  Wheeler's  Elevator, 

Galena  Depot,  National  Elevator,  Water  Works. 

This  of  course  is  only  a  very  limited  list,  embracing  only  the  very 
highest  class  of  buildings  either  in  point  of  architecture  or  in  importance, 
but  is  given  in  the  endeavor  to  enable  the  reader  to  get  a  more  definite 
conception  of  what  loss  the  people  suffered.  Already  a  description  in 
miles  has  been  given,  and  here  is  simply  painted  a  little  picture  intending 
to  show  that  the  finest  and  most  important  buildings  and  blocks  in  the 
city  went  down  before  the  fiery  hurricane.  Public  buildings,  hotels, 
school  houses,  factories,  churches,  depots,  and  theaters  were  licked  up  by 
the  flames  as  if  they  were  spider  webs  before  the  housewife's  broom. 
There  were  destroyed  seventeen  hotels,  twenty-nine  churches,  twenty- 
seven  banks  of  deposit,  twelve  savings  banks,  and  six  railway  stations. 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  193 

To  still  further  describe  the  extent  of  the  calamity  the  mention  of  indi- 
vidual losses  will  serve  a  useful  purpose.  J.  V.  Farwell  lost  nearly  two 
million  dollars;  William  B.  Ogden's  losses  footed  up  into  the  millions; 
Cyrus  H.  and  L.  J.  McCormick  suffered  in  the  loss  of  their  reaper  works, 
containing  at  the  time  about  two  thousand  finished  reapers,  and  a 
large  number  of  unfinished  machines,  and  in  the  destruction  of  a  very  large 
number  of  buildings,  beside  pecuniary  damages  which,  perhaps,  have  never 
been  accurately  ascertained,  even  by  themselves,  but  which  reached  to 
millions  of  dollars.  Potter  Palmer  was  a  notable  sufferer.  He  was  largely 
engaged  in  mei'cantile  enterprises,  and  was  a  large  real  estate  owner  on 
State  street,  but  nearly  if  not  all  of  his  real  estate  was  under  mortgage,  as 
he  had  apparently  fixed  as  the  object  of  his  ambition  in  life,  the  erection, 
of  a  mammoth  hotel,  and  to  forward  his  project  had  encumbered  his 
property  in  order  to  secure  money.  The  hotel  was  in  process  of  erection 
when  the  wave  of  destruction  swept  over  the  city;  and  as  its  walls  melted 
before  the  flames  it  was  difficult  to  see  how  Mr.  Palmer  was  to  extricate 
himself.  So  firmly  did  the  belief  that  he  was  hopelessly  ruined  take 
possession  of  the  people,  that  a  rumor  became  current  that  he  had  com- 
mitted suicide.  But  it  was  not  long  before  such  a  story  was  put  to  rest,  by 
a  telegram  from  Mr.  Palmer — who  was  in  the  State  of  New  York  at  the 
time — which  read:  "I  will  rebuild  my  buildings  at  once.  Put  on  an 
extra  force  and  hurry  up  the  hotel."  That  was  an  exhibition  of  com- 
mendable pluck,  for  Mr.  Palmer  had  been  a  severe  sufferer.  Albert  Crosby 
lost  between  seventy-five  and  a  hundred  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  pictures 
and  statuary.  Perry  H.  Smith,  S.  M.  Nickerson,  E.  B.  McCagg  and  R. 
E.  Moore  lost  heavily  in  works  of  art. 

But  while  this  is  a  representative  picture  of  individual  losses,  there 
was  a  brave  determination  to  stem  the  current  and  to  "owe  no  man  any- 
thing." The  dry  goods  trade  was  an  evidence  of  this.  It  had  suffered 
more  than  any  other  branch  of  commerce,  but  its  courage  and  honesty 
cannot  be  better  described  than  to  quote  from  the  New  York  Daily 
BULLETIN  of  November  2d,  1871.  The  BULLETIN  said: — "There  are 
about  twenty  firms,  representing  by  far  the  greater  part  of  the  indebted- 
ness, who  pay  in  full  at  maturity.  Another  firm,  having  probably  the 
largest  indebtedness  there,  meets  its  paper  in  full,  but  at  an  average  exten- 
sion of  a  year  and  three  quarters,  and  at  six  per  cent,  interest.  One  or 
two  other  firms  with  a  comparatively  limited  indebtedness,  get  extensions 
averaging  from  nine  months  to  a  year,  and  propose  to  pay  in  full,  but 
without  interest.  Four  of  the  leading  firms,  representing  aggregate 
liabilities  to  the  amount  of  one  million  five  hundred  thousand  dollars,  com- 
promise at  an  average  of  sixty  cents,  payable  at  periods  ranging  from  three 
co  twelve  months,  without  interest.  This  showing  comprises  all  of  the 
wholesale  and  larger  retail  Chicago  houses  that  have  suffered,  and  here  we 
have  an  actual  loss  not  exceeding  six  hundred  thousand  dollars.  Making 
liberal  allowances  for  the  possible  losses  that  some  of  our  jobbing  houses 
may  sustain  through  the  small  retailers,  therefore  we  think  that  it  may  be 


194  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

safely  estimated  that  one  million  dollars  will  pay  all  the  actual  losses  sus- 
tained by  our  dry  goods  merchants;  and  this  estimate  is  entertained  by  our 
most  intelligent  merchants.-  That  this  is  far  below  what  dealers  expected 
may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  on  the  day  after  the  fire  one  of  our 
largest  jobbing  firms  estimated  their  losses  at  about  one  million  dollars, 
reckoning  among  the  creditors  with  whom  they  would  have  to  make 
liberal  compromises,  several  houses  who  have  since  announced  their  ability 
to  meet  their  liabilities  in  full  and  promptly  at  maturity.  The  favorable 
settlements  have  had  the  effect  of  restoring  confidence  among  merchants; 
and  even  those  most  given  to  croaking  fail  to  see  how  the  disaster  is  likely 
to  bring  panic  upon  the  dry  goods  interest  through  their  direct  losses.  The 
clothing  trade  was  largely  represented  in  Chicago,  but  out  of  the  eight  or 
ten  large  houses  there,  not  one,  we  believe,  has  asked  for  an  extension  over 
any  great  length  of  time.  The  result  shows  the  Chicago  dry  goods  mer- 
chants to  have  been  more  solid,  financially,  than  they  have  been  supposed 
to  be  by  merchants  generally,  although  the  fact  that  most  of  them  pur- 
chased their  goods  on  very  short  time  always  made  them  favorite  customers 
in  this  market.  Those  who  held  encumbered  real  estate  are  pinched 
the  most  by  their  losses;  but  even  those  are  likely  to  be  able  to  weather  the 
storm  without  sacrificing  their  property  at  its  present  depreciated  value, 
by  the  aid  of  the  liberal  extensions  which  their  creditors  have  readily 
accepted." 

The  portrayal  of  what  Chicago  was  when  in  ashes — honest,  straight- 
forward, persistent  and  defiant,  cannot  be  better  given  than  in  these  words 
of  the  representatives  of  her  creditors,  and  we  shall  make  no  attempt  to 
embellish  the  gratifying  story. 


'95 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


AFTER    THE    FIRE. 

The  sadness  of  the  scene  after  the  conflagration  had  ceased  can  never 
be  described.  To  those  who  did  not  witness  the  awful  desolation,  no 
words  can  possibly  convey  even  the  faintest  idea  of  the  appearance  of  the 
miles  of  blackened  ruins.  The  question  of  the  stranger  frequently  is, 
Was  this  part  of  the  city  destroyed  by  the  great  fire  ?  And  when  the 
answer,  Yes,  everything  was  destroyed  as  far  as  your  eye  can  reach,  and 
even  further,  is  given,  the  inquirer  usually  looks  completely  bewildered 
and  almost  incredulous. 

"Men  said  ?,'<;  vespers:  All  is  well. 
In  one  wild  night  the  city  fell; 
Fell  shrines  of  prayer  and  marts  of  gain 
Before  the  fiery  hurricane. 

On  three  score  spires  had  sunset  shone, 
Where  ghastly  sunrise  looked  on  none; 
Men  clasped  each  others'  hands  and  said, 
The  city  of  the  West  is  dead." 

In  these  words  Whittier  correctly  described  the  ruin  and  the  first  feel- 
ings of  the  unfortunate  populace.  The  night  of  horror  was  followed  bv  a 
despair  which  was  the  legitimate  result  of  such  an  appalling  disaster.  Out 
on  the  prairies  in  the  chilling  atmosphere,  were  thousands  upon  thou- 
sands huddled  together,  with  no  roof  above  their  head  except  the  broad  sky, 
and  no  bed  beneath  them  except  the  cold  earth.  Many  who  had  started  from 
their  homes  with  their  household  possessions,  halted  too  soon,  and  after 
all  their  trouble  and  expense,  were  compelled  to  deliver  their  property  to 
the  flames,  and  homeless  and  paupers  hasten  to  the  fields  for  personal  safety. 
The  worst  side  of  human  nature  was  of  course  brought  prominently  to 
view  in  the  midst  of  the  human  necessity.  Sickness  nor  any  other  circum- 
stance was  sufficient  to  melt  the  hearts  of  the  vultures  who  hung  about  the 
scene  for  the  purpose  of  gorging  themselves  upon  the  misfortunes  of  their 
fellow  citizens.  Enormous  prices  were  charged  for  the  removal  of  prop- 
erty, and  after  the  stipulated  sum  had  been  paid,  and  the  goods  loaded,  an 
additional  amount  was  not  unfrequently  demanded.  One  apology  for  a 
man  who  had  contracted  to  move  goods  to  a  certain  point  for  a  stipulated 
sum,  and  who  refused,  when  half  way  to  his  destination,  to  go  further 
unless  more  money  was  paid  him,  altered  his  mind  at  the  muzzle  of  a 
pistol,  which  was  a  great  misfortune  to  mankind.  The  thought  of  "man's 


to.6  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

inhumanity  to  man"  burned  in  the  souls  of  thousands  in  the  heart  broken, 
discouraged  multitude  on  the  prairie,  and  made  the  despair  still  deeper  and 
more  somber.  Humanity  dreads  to  lose  confidence  in  itself.  When  it 
feels  that  total  depravity  is  a  fact  and  not  a  theory,  it  is  forced  to  wish  that 
it  could  be  divorced  from  itself,  longs  for  isolation  as  complete  as  the  poet 
describes  that  of  Selkirk,  and  prays  to  forget  that  humanity  was  ever 
thought  to  be  a  brotherhood.  With  such  thoughts  come  the  most  poignant 
grief,  as  they  lead  to  the  conclusion  that  the  sweet  sympathy  and  love  of 
the  human  heart,  which  all  supposed  to  be  strong  enough  at  all  times  to 
prompt  the  expression, 

"Come,  child  of  misfortune,  come  hither, 
I'll  weep  with  thee,  tear  for  tear," 

are  the  creation  of  fairy  dreams. 

But  there  was  still  more  fertile  causes  of  grief  among  the  homeless 
thousands.  Families  were  separated,  and  whether  the  absent  ones  were 
dead  or  alive  was  a  question  that  was  agitating  the  souls  of  the  separated. 
Mother  was  not  with  the  son  or  daughter;  husband  was  not  with  the  wife; 
brother  was  not  with  sister;  friend  was  not  with  friend,  and  Where  is  he? 
Where  is  she?  were  the  questions  that  for  the  time  being  there  was  no 
one  to  answer.  Many  of  them,  however,  did  not  have  to  ask  the  question; 
they  knew  only  too  well  where  the  loved  ones  were.  Some  had  perished 
in  the  flames;  others  were  borne  from  sick  beds  to  die  on  the  ground;  be- 
fore the  eyes  of  loving  friends  some  had  leaped  from  burning  buildings  to 
their  death  upon  the  street.  What  could  be  necessary  to  make  the  agony 
of  a  people  more  complete  ?  A  single  vacant  chair  at  the  quiet  fireside, 
over  which  we  often  pour  a  flood  of  scorching  tears,  appears  even  mean- 
ingless when  compared  to  such  a  sorrow.  The  condition  of  the  people  of 
the  burned  district  can  scarcely  be  better  described  than  by  noting  the  fact 
that  a  mother  and  father  wandered  to  the  West  Division  with  a  dead  infant, 
seeking  a  place  of  burial,  and  that  a  resident  of  the  West  Side  permitted 
the  grieving  parents  to  bury  it  in  his  yard.  There  was  no  place  for  the 
living,  and  seemingly  no  place  for  the  dead.  Can  language  more  graphic- 
ally portray  the  situation? 

While  the  exact  fatality  can  never  be  known,  it  is  estimated  that  at 
least  three  hundred  lives  were  lost.  In  one  house  on  Bremer  street  eight 
dead  bodies  were  found,  comprising  no  doubt  an  entire  family.  Ten  black- 
smiths while  endeavoring  to  save  their  tools  from  a  shop  on  Chicago 
avenue,  were  buried  by  falling  walls,  and  many  instances  of  a  most  thrilling 
character  could  be  detailed  in  which  human  life  was  sacrificed,  but  they 
would  serve  no  useful  purpose  here.  On  the  second  day  after  the  fire  the 
coroner  brought  the  charred  and  loathsome  fragments  of  seventy  bodies  into 
the  morgue,  and  after  giving  anxious  friends  of  missing  loved  ones  an 
opportunity  to  view  the  disfigured  remains  for  the  purpose  of  identification, 
those  that  were  not  recognized — and  only  a  very  few  were — were  interred 
in  the  county  burying  ground. 

During  Monday  the  terrible  heat  of  the   smoking   ruins  forbade  any 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  197 

attempt  to  visit  them,  and  only  at  a  respectful  distance  could  the  observer 
gaze  upon  the  sad  but  picturesque  spectacle,  which  suggested  a  likeness  to 
ancient  ruins  as  delineated  in  familiar  pictures.  Solemn  looking  wails  in 
every  condition  of  ruin  frowned  through  the  smoke,  and  seemed  like 
spectral  visitants  in  a  silent,  solemn  cemetery.  In  the  North  Division  the 
fire  was  still  raging,  but  practically  it  was  after  the  fire,  for  already  prepara- 
tion was  being  made  for  the  future.  The  Mayor,  Comptroller,  President 
-  of  the  Common  Council  and  President  of  the  Police  Commissioners  issued 
a  joint  proclamation,  pledging  the  faith  and  credit  of  the  city  for  the  neces- 
sary expenses  for  the  relief  of  the  suffering,  and  assuring  the  people  that 
public  order  would  be  preserved.  The  headquarters  of  the  city  govern- 
ment were  located  in  the  First  Congregational  Church,  corner  of  Ann  and 
Washington  streets,  and  the  men  of  the  health  and  fire  departments  were 
appointed  special  policemen. 

But  it  was  much  more  easy  for  the  civil  authorities  to  promise  to  pre- 
serve public  order  than  to  do  it.  The  city  was  full  of  thieves  and  despe- 
radoes, and  it  was,  perhaps,  impossible  for  the  civil  authorities  to  protect  the 
public  from  their  depredations,  and  it  was  decided  to  turn  the  police 
department  over  to  General  P.  H.  Sheridan,  who  accepted  the  trust,  and 
with  United  States  soldiers  and  the  city  police  under  his  command,  placed 
the  city  under  martial  law,  remaining  in  command  until  the  twenty-third 
of  October,  when  he  was  relieved  by  the  Mayor.  The  brave  men  and 
women  who  had  made  Chicago,  rallied  under  the  protection  afforded  by 
Sheridan,  and  forgetting  the  past  said:  The  city  of  the  West  is  not  dead; 
and  with  all  their  sorrows,  disappointments  and  losses,  they  shouted  a 
welcome  to  the  Quaker  poet's  advice  to  Chicago: 

"Then  lift  once  more  thy  towers  on  high, 
And  fret  with  spires  the  Western  sky." 

While  the  destruction  had  been  truly  awful,  and  the  business  portion 
of  the  city  lay  prostrate  in  ashes,  and  while  "Chicago  is  destroyed"  were 
the  words  that  were  flashed  over  the  wires,  with  the  approval  of  all,  it  is 
nevertheless  a  fact  that  Chicago  never  was  destroyed.     The  city  contained 
a  population  of  over  three  hundred  thousand,  and  not  more  than  one- third 
of  these  were  turned  into  the  streets  by  the   conflagration.      The  North 
Division  was   almost  completely  destroyed,  not  more  than  five  hundred 
houses  probably  escaping;  but  the  fire  swept  over  a  comparatively  small 
portion  of  the  West  Division,  and  it  left  enough  in  the  South  Division  to 
make  a  respectable  sized  city  of  itself.     Seventeen  thousand,  four  hundred 
and  fifty  buildings  were  destroyed,  but  forty-two  thousand  remained.    But 
while  it  was  true  that  what  would  be  regarded  as  a  large  city  still  stood,  it 
was  also  true  that  the  blow  was  dreadfully  deadly  in  character,  because  the 
merchants  whose   stores   and   stocks   of  merchandise  had  been  destroyed, 
had  not  had   time  to  fully  establish  themselves;  they  were  left  not  only 
with  nothing,  but  heavily  in  debt.     In  this  respect  the  Chicago  fire  resulted 
very  differently  from   the   Boston  fire.      There  the  vast  majority  of  real 
estate  owners  were  not  losers  in  one  sense  of  the  term.      Their  land  was 


198  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

worth  more  after  the  fire  than  both  land  and  buildings  had  originally  cost 
them.  But  bad  as  was  the  state  of  affairs,  hope  and  courage  nerved  the 
people  to  bear  their  burdens  smilingly  and  to  be  thankful  that  so  much  of 
the  city  had  been  saved. 

Four  days  after  the  fire  the  legislature  of  the  State  assembled,  and 
Governor  Palmer  urged  it  to  provide  for  the  necessities  of  Chicago,  but 
the  legislature  concluded  that  the  State  was  prevented  by  the  terms  of  the 
State  constitution  from  creating  a  debt  beyond  two  hundred  and  fifty  thou- 
sand dollars,  except  for  repelling  invasion,  suppressing  insurrection,  or  de- 
fending the  State  in  time  of  war,  and  as  any  money  furnished  the  city 
would  have  to  be  borrowed,  no  relief  of  that  character  came  from  the 
State.  The  legislature,  however,  did  remit  the  taxes  upon  property  in 
the  burned  district,  and  the  State  assumed  the  city's  debt  of  two  million, 
nine  hundred  and  fifty-five  thousand,  and  three  hundred  and  forty  dollars, 
which  amount  had  been  expended  in  deepening  the  Illinois  and  Michigan 
canal. 

The  insurance  upon  the  property  destroyed  was  naturally  the  first 
thing  thought  of,  but  many  of  the  insurance  companies  were  as  badly  off 
as  the  balance  of  the  community,  and  little  encouragement  came  from  that 
source.  The  number  of  companies  having  risks  in  Chicago  at  the  time 
was  three  hundred  and  forty-one,  three  hundred  and  thirty-five  of  which 
were  American  companies  and  the  balance  foreign.  The  risks  of  the 
various  companies  aggregated  eighty-eight  million,  six  hundred  and 
thirty-four  thousand,  and  one  hundred  and  twenty-two  dollars.  Had  all 
this  been  paid,  it  will  be  observed  that  it  would  not  have  amounted  to  fifty 
per  cent,  of  the  loss.  But  it  was  not  all  paid.  Fifty-seven  companies 
suspended,  and  this  caused  the  amount  paid  by  the  underwriters  to  be  less 
than  twenty  per  cent,  of  the  loss. 

But  even  this  was  not  sufficient  to  dishearten  the  sufferers.  Merchants 
began  to  look  about  for  new  locations.  Business  men  assumed  an  air  of 
perfect  satisfaction,  even  if  they  did  not  feel  what  they  showed.  There 
was  a  grand  rush  for  stores  on  the  West  Side.  Without  exactly  knowing 
what  the  ultimate  result  to  individuals  was  going  to  be,  and  with  nothing 
at  hand  to  commence  with,  nearly  all  determined  to  commence  anew  at  all 
hazards.  Governor  Bross  says  that  when  he  attempted  to  buy  four  stoves 
for  the  TRIBUNE  office,  he  could  not  get  trusted  for  them,  when  the  night 
before  the  paper  of  the  TRIBUNE  Company  was  good  for  a  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars.  But  Governor  Bross  bought  the  stoves,  and  paid  for  them, 
although  it  necessitated  his  borrowing  from  several  friends.  That  little 
incident  illustrated  the  condition  and  pluck  of  the  people.  The  Board  of 
Trade  established  itself  on  South  Canal  street,  and  unanimously  resolved 
not  to  repudiate  any  contracts.  Hotel  proprietors  sought  new  locations. 
On  tlie  third  day  the  bankers  held  a  meeting  and  decided  to  go  on  with 
business,  and  before  night  a  dozen  banks  had  found  new  locations,  and 
workmen  set  about  putting  them  in  order.  The  banks  within  a  few  days 
decided  to  pay  fifteen  per  cent,  to  depositors.  The  savings  banks  also 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  199 

announced  their  readiness  to  pay  depositors  twenty  dollars  each,  if  their 
deposits  amounted  to  more  than  that  sum,  and  to  pay  in  full  all  whose 
deposits  were  less  than  twenty  dollars.  By  October  seventeenth  nearly  all 
the  banks  had  resumed;  Eastern  capital  was  being  sent  forward  for  invest- 
ment in  real  estate;  the  insurance  companies  were  sending  considerable 
sums  to  liquidate  the  claims  of  policy  holders,  and  really  the  banks  had 
-  more  money  than  they*had  before  the  fire.  Although  one  quarter  of  the 
storage  room  had  been  destroyed,  the  movement  of  flour  and  grain  was 
active,  as  is  shown  by  the  receipts  and  shipments  for  the  weeks  ending  at 
the  dates  stated,  and  which  we  take  from  "Chicago  and  the  Great  Confla- 
gration." 

RECEIPTS. 

Nov.  nth,  1871.  Nov. 4th,  1871. 

Flour,  barrels 35  272 33  016 

Wheat,  bushels 390  538 285  502 

Corn,          "       817  904 638  907 

Oats,  "       270367 369856 

Rye,  "       26474 36883 

Barley,        "       87  530 91  120 

SHIPMENTS. 

Nov.  nth,  1871.  Nov.  4th,  1871. 

Flour,  barrels 10  156 19  597 

Wheat,  bushels .413  909 326  451 

Corn,  "       S47834 764614 

Oats,  "       449825 529505 

Rye,  "       .* 32999 • 116126 

Barley,       "       107  339 71  611 

The  aggregate  of  receipts  of  flour  and  grain  was  indeed  larger  than 
for  the  corresponding  time  of  the  previous  year,  and  the  shipments  were 
about  the  same,  which  was  plainly  indicative  of  Chicago's  right  to  be 
called  a  natural  grain  center,  and  that  nothing  could  injure  her  in  that 
character. 

The  rebuilding  of  the  burned  district  was  at  once  begun.  On  some  of 
the  sites  wooden  buildings  were  erected,  and  rude  signs  announced  the  fact 
that  the  occupants  were  ready  for  business.  In  the  majority  of  instances, 
however,  it  was  the  aim  to  reconstruct  in  a  substantial  manner,  and  in  order 
to  accomplish  that  object,  those  merchants  and  tradesmen  who  could  not  find 
accommodations  in  the  un'ourned  districts,  constructed  temporary  wooden 
buildings  on  the  Lake  Park,  on  the  base  ball  grounds  and  on  Dearborn 
Park,  permission  being  given  by  the  Board  of  Public  Works  for  the  erec- 
tion of  such  buildings  on  condition  that  they  should  not  exceed  twenty  feet 
in  height  and  should  be  removed  at  the  expiration  of  a  year.  The  work 
of  rebuilding  went  steadily  forward,  and  it  was  not  many  weeks  before  the 
new  city  gave  abundant  evidence  of  her  determination  and  her  power  to 
rise  from  her  ashes.  The  merchants  had  more  than  they  could  do.  Orders 
for  goods  fairly  poured  in  upon  them,  and  while  there  was  a  perfect 
willingness  on  the  part  of  Eastern  merchants  to  sell  them  goods,  there 
was  still  a  lack  of  stock,  for  the  reason  that  the  railroads  were  over- 
taxed, and  could  not  possibly  deliver  merchandise  as  fast  as  it  was  wanted. 
All  of  the  Eastern  roads  did  a  larger  freight  business  during  the  month  of 


2oo  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

October,  1871,  than  they  did  during  the  month  of  October  the  previous 
year. 

But  matters  gradually  regulated  themselves.  The  people  had  a  single 
object  in  view,  to  re-establish  the  beautiful  city  of  the  West,  and  to  make 
it  grander  in  architectural  beauty  and  completeness  than  even  the  most 
fanciful  dreamer  had  ever  dared  to  picture.  Without  water  supply, 
without  gas,  with  acres  of  desolation  about  them,  and  poor  in  purse,  but 
rich  in  energy,  they  diligently  and  sacrificingly  applied  themselves  to  their 
task,  until  upon  the  smoking  ruins  of  the  ninth  of  October  arose  the  most 
beautiful  city  on  the  American  continent. 


2OI 


PHILIP  HENRY  SHERIDAN. 


For  the  last  eleven  years  one  of  the  most  prominent  of  the  citizens  of 
Chicago  has  been  Philip  Henry  Sheridan,  Lieutenant  General  of  the  United 
States  Army.  He  was  born  in  Somerset,  Ohio,  March  6th,  1833,  and 
received  the  usual  common  school  education  of  a  country  lad  until  his 
fifteenth  year.  He  then  obtained  employment  in  a  country  store  of  which 
his  eldest  brother  was  one  of  the  partners ;  but  within  a  few  months  he 
received  an  appointment  to  the  United  States  Military  Academy,  and 
wisely  abandoning  his  idea  of  a  mercantile  career,  he  entered  West  Point 
in  1848,  and  graduated  in  1853,  and  was  commissioned  a  Brevet  Second 
Lieutenant  in  the  First  United  States  Infantry.  For  something  over  a 
year  he  served  with  his  regiment  on  the  Texas  frontier,  when  he  was  ap- 
pointed a  Second  Lieutenant  of  the  Fourth  Infantry,  and  joined  his  com- 
mand on  the  Pacific  coast.  For  the  next  six  years  he  was  constantly  upon 
frontier  duty  in  California,  Oregon  and  Washington  Territory,  serving 
part  of  the  time  as  commander  of  the  escort  of  the  United  States  boundary 
Survey,  and  at  other  times  in  command  of  cavalry  detachments,  and  again 
opening  roads  and  scouting  after  Indians  and  taking  a  prominent  part  in 
several  Indian  campaigns.  He  had  already  received  the  thanks  of  the  Major 
General  commanding  the  Army  in  General  Orders,  and  was  a  marked 
man  when  the  war  of  the  rebellion  broke  out.  On  the  fourteenth  of  May, 
1 86 1,  he  was  commissioned  a  Captain  in  the  newly  organized  Fourteenth 
Infantry  and  in  October  of  the  same  year  he  proceeded  to  the  Atlantic  coast 
to  join  his  regiment.  On  his  arrival  in  New  York,  he  was  sent  to  the  West 
to  purchase  horses  for  the  use  of  the  army,  and  in  a  short  time  ordered  to 
St.  Louis  to  audit  army  accounts  and  straighten  out  certain  details  that  had 
apparently  become  in  inextricable  confusion.  In  November,  1861,  he  was 
made  chief  quartermaster  of  the  Army  of  the  Southwest  and  made  the  Pea 
Ridge  campaign  with  that  command.  In  May,  1862,  he  was  appointed 
Colonel  of  the  Second  Michigan  Cavalry,  and  almost  immediately  showed 
his  fitness  for  the  position  by  hunting  up  and  attacking  the  enemy,  and  sig- 
nally defeating  his  cavalry  in  several  engagements,  particularly  at  Booneville, 
Mississippi,  where  being  suddenly  attacked  by  the  rebel  General  Chalmers, 
with  a  greatly  superior  force,  he  not  only  repelled  the  attack,  but  assuming 
the  offensive,  completely  routed  his  adversary  and  captured  more  rebel  pris- 
oners than  the  entire  force  of  United  States  troops  on  the  field.  For  this  action 
he  was  made  a  Brigadier  General  of  Volunteers,  and  assigned  to  the  com- 


2O2  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZKNS. 

mand  of  the  Eleventh  Division,  Army  of  the  Ohio,  and  commanded  it  at 
the  battle  of  Perryville  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  his  superior  officers. 
He  was  shortly  after  assigned  to  the  command  of  a  Division  in  the  Army 
of  the  Cumberland,  and  at  the  battle  of  Stone  River  greatly  distinguished 
himself  for  stubborn  fighting,  so  much  so,  that  he  was  made  a  Major  Gen- 
eral of  Volunteers.  At  the  battle  of  Chickamaitga  his  Division  again  won 
plaudits  for  splendid  fighting,  not  only  from  our  side,  but  fairly  extorted  it 
from  the  rebel  officers.  At  the  battle  of  Missionary  Ridge  his  Division 
assaulted  and  carried  the  center  of  the  ridge,  though  at  a  terrible  loss  of 
officers  and  men.  In  March,  1864,  he  was  assigned  to  command  of  the 
Cavalry  Corps  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  Here  the  same  energy  and 
ability  he  had  shown  in  the  West  came  into  full  play,  and  he  promptly 
took  the  offensive;  and  as  soon  as  the  army  started  on  its  Wilderness  cam- 
paign he  led  the  advance  until  the  enemy  entrenched  himself  at  Spottsyl- 
vania  Court  House.  Then  having  obtained  permission  from  General 
Grant  he  cut  loose  from  the  army,  swept  around  its  left  flank,  and  pushed 
fairly  into  the  rebel  entrenchments  at  Richmond.  Fighting  the  enemy's 
cavalry  wherever  he  could  find  it,  and  harassing  his  communications  in 
every  direction,  he  soon  made  himself  dreaded  by  the  foe.  At  the  battle 
of  Yellow  Tavern  General  J.  E.  B.  Stuart,  the  well  known  rebel  cavalry 
commander,  was  killed,  and  Sheridan  returned  and  rejoined  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac,  with  the  prestige  of  the  rising  cavalry  commander  of  the  day. 
During  the  next  four  months  he  was  constantly  in  the  saddle,  fighting  more 
than  twenty  different  engagements,  cutting  the  enemy's  communications  and 
destroying  his  railroad  connections  on  both  flanks,  and  in  fact  harassing 
him  in  every  possible  way;  and  before  Mid-Summer  he  was  acknowledged 
as  the  great  cavalry  leader  of  the  war.  In  August,  1864,  he  was  assigned 
to  the  command  of  the  Army  of  the  Shenandoah,  and  throwing  himself 
into  the  work  of  re-organizing  the  army  with  his  usual  tireless  energy,  he 
soon  reported  himself  ready  to  assume  the  offensive  against  the  hitherto 
victorious  enemy  under  command  of  General  Jubal  A.  Early.  On  Sep- 
tember 1 7th,  1864,  General  Grant,  after  a  short  personal  interview,  gave 
him  the  now  celebrated  order  to  "go  in,"  and  on  the  nineteenth  General 
Sheridan  assumed  the  offensive  and  attacked  the  rebel  forces  near  Win- 
chester, defeating  them  after  a  hotly  contested  battle  from  daybreak  to 
sunset.  Pursuing  the  fleeing  foe  he  found  them  strongly  entrenched  in 
what  was  thought  to  be  an  impregnable  position  at  Fisher's  Hill,  but  on 
the  twenty-second  of  September  he  again  attacked  them,  turned  their 
flanks  by  an  adroit  movement,  and  defeated  and  routed  them,  taking  large 
numbers  of  prisoners  and  many  guns.  During  his  temporary  absence  at 
Washington  General  Early  again  assumed  the  offensive,  and  under  cover 
of  a  heavy  fog  attacked  the  United  States  forces.  After  an  obstinate 
resistance  he  defeated  and  drove  them  out  of  their  entrenchments  and  back 
toward  Winchester  for  several  miles.  Hearing  the  roar  of  the  guns  and 
being  informed  of  the  defeat  of  our  forces,  Sheridan,  who  was  at  Win- 
chester, nearly  twenty  miles  distant,  rode  rapidly  to  the  front,  finding  the 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS   DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 


203 


army  defeated  and  partially  demoralized  and  still  slowly  falling  back,  hav- 
ing lost  heavily  in  men,  guns  and  munitions  of  war.  Grasping  the  situa- 
tion he  at  once  re-organized  his  lines,  connected  his  divisions,  rallied  the 
stragglers  and  on  the  advance  of  the  enemy  met  and  hurled  him  back 
with  heavy  loss.  Then  transferring  part  of  his  cavalry  to  the  right  of  his 
army,  and  repelling  an  attack  of  the  enemy's  horse  in  that  direction,  he 
ordered  an  advance  along  the  whole  line,  and  skillfully  turning  the  left 
flank  of  trie  enemy's  infantry,  routed  the  foe  with  great  slaughter,  recap- 
turing the  guns  and  munitions  and  most  of  the  prisoners  taken  by  the 
enemy  in  the  morning,  and  capturing  nearly  every  gun  and  nearly  all  of 
the  enemy's  transportation,  together  with  thousands  of  prisoners,  encamp- 
ing his  forces  at  nightfall  on  the  very  ground  from  which  they  were  driven 
with  such  disaster  in  the  morning.  The  results  of  this  battle  won  Sheridan 
golden  opinions  both  at  home  and  abroad;  the  whole  North  rang  with  his 
praises;  Congress  passed  resolutions  of  thanks  to  him  and  his  army;  Presi- 
dent Lincoln  congratulated  him  in  an  autograph  letter;  General  Grant 
telegraphed  the  Secretary  of  War  that  "turning  a  defeat  into  a  great 
victory  stamped  Sheridan  what  he  had  always  thought  him,  one  of  the 
foremost  soldiers  of  the  age;"  the  London  TIMES  had  a  leading  editorial 
upon  the  battle,  in  which  it  said:  "While  Desaix  saved  the  French  army 
from  defeat  at  Marengo  by  his  timely  arrival  on  the  field,  it  must  be 
recollected  that  he  arrived  at  the  head  of  six  thousand  fresh  troops,  but 
that  Sheridan  turned 'the  tide  of  battle  alone  by  his  ability  and  the  inspira- 
tion of  his  presence." 

In  the  latter  part  of  February,  1864,  General  Sheridan  with  eight 
thousand  cavalry  started  up  the  Shenandoah  Valley  with  the  intention  of 
capturing  Lynchburg,  Virginia.  General  Early  attempted  to  dispute  his 
march,  but  was  defeated  and  nearly  all  of  his  command  captured  at  the 
battle  of  Waynesboro,  on  March  second.  Then  crossing  the  Blue  Ridge 
Mountains,  Sheridan  attempted  to  seize  the  bridges  crossing  the  James 
river.  These,  however,  were  burned  by  the  enemy,  and  he  had  to  aban- 
don his  idea  of  capturing  Lynchburg,  as  owing  to  the  incessant  rains 
the  river  was  bank-full  and  his  small  pontoon  train  would  not  reach  across  the 
river%  Instead  of  returning  to  Winchester  he  determined  to  rejoin  General 
Granl;  and  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  then  besieging  Petersburg  and  Rich- 
mond. Turning  east  from  Charlottesville  he  raided  the  whole  country 
north  of  the  James  river,  destroying  rebel  supplies  and  manufactories  in 
every  direction,  cutting  the  James  river  and  Kanawha  canal  and  destroy- 
ino-  many  of  its  locks.  Tearing  up  the  Virginia  Central  and  Fredericks- 
burg  railroads  and  burning  their  bridges,  he  moved  almost  up  to  the 
enemy's  pickets  on  the  west  of  Richmond.  Then  moving  to  White  House, 
Virginia,  he  joined  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  by  the  way  of  the  Chicka- 
homfliy  river.  In  this  raid  he  did  almost  incalculable  damage  to  the  enemy 
and  finally  placed  his  command  at  the  point  it  was  most  needed  for  the  final 
•campaign. 

In  the  closing   battles  of  the  war,  ending  with  the  surrender  of  the 


204  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  on  the  ninth  of  April,  1865,  General  Sheridan 
bore  a  conspicuous  and  distinguished  part.  He  fought  the  battle  of  Din- 
widdie  Court  House,  on  the  left  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  on  the  thirty- 
first  of  March,  and  the  battle  of  Five  Forks  on  the  first  of  April,  utterly 
routing  and  capturing  a  large  force  of  the  enemy,  his  captures  in  this  battle 
exceeding  six  thousand  men  and  ten  thousand  stand  of  small  arms.  This 
battle  was  the  decisive  blow  of  the  campaign.  General  Lee  finding  that 
Sheridan  was  on  his  right  and  rear,  decided  at  once  to  evacuate  Richmond 
and  Petersburg,  and  sent  word  to  the  rebel  president,  Davis,  that  he  must  no 
longer  expect  him  to  hold  his  positions.  At  dawn  of  the  second  of  April  the 
entire  Army  of  the  Potomac  attacked  the  rebel  lines  and  were  everywhere 
successful,  and  Lee  moved  out  of  his  entrenchments  and  pushed  for  Lynch- 
burg,  hoping  to  effect  a  junction  with  General  Joe  Johnstone's  forces,  who 
were  falling  back  from  General  Sherman's  advancing  troops.  Here  was 
Sheridan's  opportunity,  and  gloriously  did  he  take  advantage  of  it.  Hanging 
on  to  Lee's  flanks  he  assailed  him  in  every  possible  way,  never  tiring,  always 
alert,  constantly  in  the  saddle  night  and  day,  he  gave  the  fleeing  enemy 
no  rest,  but  compelled  him  to  act  constantly  on  the  defensive,  and  always 
with  heavy  losses  of  men,  munitions  of  war  and  wagon  trains.  At  Sailor's 
Creek  he  fought  what  was  practically  the  last  great  battle  of  the  war, 
capturing  General  Ewell  with  ten  other  general  officers  and  ten  thou- 
sand prisoners  of  war.  By  making  a  series  of  forced  inarches  he  threw 
his  cavalry  directly  across  the  head  of  Lee's  retreating  columns  at  Ap- 
pomattox  Station,  on  the  night  of  April  8th,  1865,  capturing  four  railroad 
trains  of  supplies  for  the  rebel  army,  twenty-five  pieces  of  reserve  artillery 
and  a  large  train  of  army  wagons. 

Lee  was  now  practically  a  prisoner,  and  our  infantry  forces  having 
arrived  during  the  night,  he  was  compelled  to  surrender  the  next  day, 
after  a  brilliant  but  unsuccessful  attempt  to  force  the  government  lines. 

This  closed  the  war.  Sheridan  was  ordered  to  New  Orleans  in  com- 
mand of  the  Department  of  the  Gulf,  remaining  there  until  1867.  He 
was  then  assigned  to  the  Department  of  the  Missouri,  with  headquarters 
at  Fort  Leavenworth.  In  the  Winter  of  1868-9  ^e  made  a  most  success- 
ful campaign  against  the  Cheyenne  Indians.  In  March,  1869,  he  was 
made  Lieutenant  General  and  established  his  headquarters  in  this  city. 

Personally  General  Sheridan  is  a  little  below  medium  height,  broad 
shouldered  and  erect,  with  a  deep  black  eye,  bronzed  face,  full  brown 
moustache  and  short  hair  now  rapidly  turning  gray.  In  his  habits  he  is- 
very  methodical,  keeping  regular  office  hours  and  closely  superintending 
everything  relating  to  his  military  Division.  In  speaking  his  voice  is- 
always  pitched  in  a  low  tone  and  his  words  clearly  enunciated.  No  man 
in  the  country  more  thoroughly  commands  the  respect  of  the  people  who- 
revere  our  o-overnment  and  who  believe  that  the  United  States  is  a  nation 


205 


CHAPTER  XV. 


CHICAGO    AND    THE    REBELLION    OF    l86l. 

April  1 4th,  1 86 1,  will  ever  be  memorable  in  American  history,  as  the 
date  of  the  first  overt  act  in  a  wide  spread  and  determined  effort  to  break 
the  union  of  these  States.  It  does  not  properly  belong  to  a  history  of  this 
character  to  trace  the  outbreak  of  the  Southern  States  against  the  authority 
of  the  general  government  to  its  source  or  sources,  and  yet  the  most  illus- 
trious of  Chicago's  favorite  sons,  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  played  such  a 
prominent  part  in  the  events  immediately  preceding  the  first  act  of  seces- 
sion, that  Chicago  history  seems  more  intimately  connected  with  the  history 
of  that  epoch  than  that  of  any  other  Northern  community.  For  long 
years  there  had  been  raging  an  irrepressible  conflict  between  the  spirit 
of  slavery  in  the  South  and  that  of  liberty  in  the  North.  The  institution 
of  human  slavery  was  a  cherished  idol  in  the  Southern  States,  and  they 
were  able,  through  their  own  political  strength  and  by  the  aid  of  Northern 
sympathizers,  to  hedge  it  about  with  the  protection  of  law  and  judicial 
decisions  to  a  degree  that  was  extremely  exasperating  to  that  part  of  the 
nation  which  not  only  believed  that  slavery  was  wrong,  but  that  any  law 
which  made  it  incumbent  upon  the  citizens  of  the  Northern  States  to  act 
as  a  constabulary  for  the  return  of  fugitives  from  bondage,  was  unsanc- 
tioned  by  the  spirit  of  our  institutions.  But  the  slave  oligarchy  was  in- 
clined to  listen  to  nothing  but  an  absolute  concession  to  its  demands.  The 
boast  of  Robert  Toombs  that  he  would  yet  call  the  roll  of  his  slaves  in 
the  shadow  of  Bunker  Hill  Monument,  was  apparently  but  the  echo  of 
Southern  sentiment  for  many  years  before  Mr.  Toombs  uttered  his  sense- 
less threat.  Congress  was  almost  wholly  engaged  in  discussing  the  slavery 
question.  Compromises  were  made,  only  to  be  disregarded  by  the  advocates 
of  slavery.  Anthony  Burns  was  led  through  the  streets  of  Boston  on  his 
way  back  into  bondage,  under  the  armed  surveillance  of  Northern  citizens 
who,  from  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State  to  the  militia  and  the  city  police, 
were  willing  to  act  the  part  of  blood  hounds  to  track  and  lacerate  a  human 
being  because  he  thought  the  Declaration  of  American  Independence 
meant  what  it  said  in  the  expression :  "That  [men]  are  endowed  with  certain 
inalienable  rights;  that  among  these  are  life,  liberty  and  the  pursuit  of 
happiness."  It  would  have  been  a  burning  and  eternal  disgrace  to  Ameri- 
can citizenship,  if  such  unreasonable  claims  as  were  put  forth  by  the  slave 
power,  and  such  outrages  upon  humanity  and  mockery  of  justice  as  the 
return  of  Anthony  Burns  to  slavery,  under  the  decision  of  Chief  Justice 


206  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

Shaw  of  Massachusetts,  had  not  aroused  a  spirit  of  liberty  which  was 
destined  to  overwhelm  those  who  were  engaged  in  such  an  inhuman 
cause  with  confusion.  Wendell  Phillips,  William  Loyd  Garrison,  Charles 
Sumner,  and  others  of  like  ability  and  courage,  denounced  the  continued 
aggression  of  the  slave  holder  with  a  power  that  made  the  nation  tremble.' 
Chief  Justice  Shaw  was  told  that  when  he  stooped  to  pass  under  the 
chains  that  were  stretched  around  the  Boston  Court  House  to  prevent 
American  citizens  from  getting  too  close  to  the  incarcerated  Anthony 
Burns,  that  he  himself  was  an  abject  slave,  and  had  soiled  the  ermine 
of  his  office.  The  Mayor  and  Marshal  of  the  city,  who  had  ordered 
every  one  of  their  police,  however  distant  their  beats  were  from  the 
Court  House,  to  pass  that  point  every  hour  of  the  night,  while  Anthony 
Burns  was  in  the  Tombs,  found  men  brave  enough  to  tell  them  that  they 
were  cringing  cowards. 

Thus  the  battle  between  freedom  and  slavery  raged.  The  highest  law  of 
the  universe  sustained  the  former — the  law  of  the  land  sustained  the  latter. 
Still  there  was  quite  a  general  sentiment  in  favor  of  letting  the  institution 
of  slavery  remain  where  it  was,  without  interference.  But  the  South  was 
not  satisfied  with  this.  It  claimed  that  inasmuch  as  the  Territories  belonged 
to  the  whole  United  States,  the  people  of  the  South  had  a  right  to  take 
their  slaves  into  them,  and  that  the  government  must  protect  them.  To 
this  proposition  the  immortal  Douglas  dissented,  and  although  a  Demo- 
crat, opened  a  vigorous  warfare  against  the  Democratic  administration  of 
Buchanan,  who  sustained  the  South  in  its  demands.  The  result  was  a 
split  in  the  Democratic  party  at  the  national  convention  held  in  1860. 
John  C.  Breckenridge  was  nominated  for  the  Presidency  by  the  Southern 
faction  of  the  party,  and  Mr.  Douglas  was  nominated  by  the  faction  which 
believed  that  the  Territories  had  the  right  to  say  whether  or  not  slavery 
should  exist  in  them. 

The  result  of  the  split  was  that  Abraham  Lincoln,  of  Illinois,  the 
nominee  of  the  Republicans,  was  elected  President  of  the  United  States, 
and  the  South,  enraged  at  the  consequence  of  its  own  folly,  determined  to 
dismember  the  union  of  States.  Treasonable  speeches  were  made  on  the 
floor  of  Congress.  Mr.  Buchanan,  who  was  an  old  man,  just  entering 
upon  his  second  childhood,  was  faced-  by  a  torrent  of  unusual  events,  which 
completely  unnerved  him,  and  it  is  within  the  limits  of  charitable  consider- 
ation to  believe  that  he  was  utterly  incompetent  to  prevent  the  traitors 
about  him  from  consummating  the  most  rascally  schemes.  Mr.  Buchanan 
deserves  a  great  deal  more  pity  than  censure,  and  if  the  American  people 
have  learned  anything  from  his  conduct,  it  is  that  a  man  of  his  age  is  not 
fit  for  the  Presidency  of -the  nation.  But  in  whatever  light  his  actions 
may  be  viewed,  the  startling  facts  are  before  us  that  members  of  Congress 
delivered  defiant  speeches,  and  went  out  to  destroy  the  nation;  that  the 
navy  was  disabled  for  home  service;  that  arms  were  spirited  away  to 
the  South,  and  that  the  government  was  nearly  powerless  to  maintain  itself. 

The  fourth  of  March,  1861,  at  last  came,  and  witnessed  the  inau°-ura- 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  207 

tion  of  Abraham  Lincoln  as  President  of  the  United  States.  From  Spring- 
field, Illinois,  to  the  capital  of  the  nation  this  man  of  the  people  found 
kindly  greetings  all  the  way.  He  was  a  common  man  and  he  was  honest; 
and  this  was  about  all  that  the  people  knew  of  Abraham  Lincoln.  With- 
out being  recognized  as  a  statesman,  he  was  about  to  enter  upon  the 
administration  of  a  government  which  seemed,  under  the  circumstances,  to 
demand  the  best  of  statesmanship.  Along  his  way  to  Washington  traitors 
laid  in  wait  to  take  his  life,  but  happily  for  the  American  Republic,  they 
were  thwarted  in  their  designs.  Arriving  at  the  capital,  Mr.  Lincoln  was 
inaugurated,  and  in  his  address  breathed  the  kindliest  sentiments  toward 
the  South.  But  the  Southern  people  would  not  listen,  and  when  an  attempt 
was  made  to  provision  Fort  Sumter  on  the  fourteenth  of  April,  1861,  the 
first  gun  of  the  rebellion  was  fired  at  the  fort,  and  the  next  day  the  garrison 
was  compelled  to  surrender.  Civil  war  was  now  commenced. 

The  moment  that  the  news  of  the  assault  upon  Fort  Sumter  was 
flashed  over  the  wires,  the  North  was  ablaze  with  patriotism,  and 
no  section  was  more  heaitily  determined  to  rebuke  treason  than  was  Chi- 
cago. She  said  in  actions  what  her  honored  Douglas  said  upon  his  death 
bed :  "The  government  must  be  sustained.'"  The  streets  were  filled  with 
men  from  all  avocations,  who  were  anxious  to  shoulder  arms  and  march 
for  the  protection  of  the  fame  and  flag  of  the  nation. 

On  the  nineteenth  of  April  Governor  Yates  telegraphed  General 
Swift  to  raise  an  armed  force  as  quickly  as  possible,  and  in  obedience  to 
the  dispatch  the  General  left  Chicago  two  days  later  with  five  hundred 
and  ninety-five  men  and  four  pieces  of  artillery.  This  force  was  detailed 
for  duty  at  Cairo,  and  it  was  here  that  the  Chicago  Light  Artillery  and 
companies  A  and  B  of  the  Chicago  Zouaves  first  saw  actual  military  service. 

Before  the  end  of  May  the  Washington  Light  Cavalry  and  the 
Chicago  Dragoons  were  organized.  In  June  the  Nineteenth  Regiment, 
Colonel  Mulligan's  Irish  Brigade,  and  the  Hecker  Regiment  were  formed, 
and  the  Yates  Sharpshooters,  the  Scotch  Regiment  and  other  companies 
and  regiments  followed,  all  recruited  partially  in  Chicago.  Indeed  the 
patriotism  of  the  people  induced  military  organization  much  more  rapidly 
than  the  government  desired,  and  the  mistaken  belief  that  the  contest  was 
to  be  quickly  decided,  led  to  the  refusal  to  accept  some  of  the  force  which 
was  offered,  much  to  the  discouragement  of  the  -brave  men  who  were 
willing  and  anxious  to  go  to  the  front,  and  also  of  those  who  though  unable 
to  enlist  were  willing  to  sustain  those  who  could. 

Toward  the  Autumn  of  1861,  Governor  Yates  appointed  Colonel 
Joseph  H.  Tucker  to  the  command  of  the  northern  district  of  the  State, 
and  he  at  once  established  a  camp,  near  the  University  of  Chicago,  naming 
it  Camp  Douglas,  in  honor  of  the  great  senator.  About  seventy  acres  were 
set  apart  for  military  purposes,  and  barracks  were  created  for  the  accom. 
modation  of  eight  thousand  men. 

In  February,  1862,  over  eight  thousand  Confederate  prisoners  arrived 
from  Fort  Donaldson,  where  they  had  been  captured,  and  were  placed  in 


208  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

the  camp  under  guard  of  our  troops.  About  this  time  Colonel  Tucker 
surrendered  the  command  of  the  camp  to  Colonel  Mulligan,  who  after  the 
battle  of  Lexington,  Missouri,  was  ordered  home  to  reorganize  his  regi- 
ment. In  the  following  June,  however,  Colonel  Tucker  resumed  com- 
mand, and  two  regiments  of  three-months  men  were  recruited  for  camp 
duty.  Then  came  a  large  number  of  paroled  troops  captured  at  Harper's 
Ferry,  under  the  command,  or  more  properly,  management  of  Brigadier- 
General  Tyler.  These  paroled  men  thinking  that  they  should  neither  be 
treated  as  prisoners,  nor  compelled  to  do  any  duty,  until  exchanged,  while 
General  Tyler  thought  otherwise,  and  acted  as  he  thought,  much  trouble 
resulted,  and  the  people  of  Chicago  were  fearful  that  .an  outbreak  might 
occur  which  would  endanger  the  safety  of  the  city.  Perhaps  this  feeling 
was  reasonable  in  the  light' of  the  fact  that  the  dissatisfaction  among  the 
men  had  led  to  the  firing  of  the  barracks  and  to  other  very  ugly  looking 
acts  upon  their  part.  It  is  not  likely,  however,  that  the  thought  of  doing 
injury  to  the  city  ever  found  lodgment  in  the  mind  of  a  single  soldier.  At 
least  none  was  done  or  attempted. 

The  paroled  troops  departed  in  the  Fall  of  1862,  and  Brigadier- 
General  Ammon  took  command.  Very  soon  after  this  the  saddest  part  of 
the  history  of  Camp  Douglas  was  made.  Just  at  the  edge  of  Winter  a 
large  number  of  Confederate  prisoners  arrived,  and  being  unaccustomed 
to  the  rigors  of  our  Northern  climate,  notwithstanding  the  kind  atten- 
tion shown  them  by  the  humane  citizens  and  their  guard,  they  died  off 
very  rapidly.  From  the  opening  of  the  camp  until  March,  1863,  thirty 
thousand  troops  had  been  fitted  for  the  front,  eight  thousand  paroled  soldiers 
had  been  quartered,  and  seventeen  thousand  rebel  prisoners  had  been  con- 
fined within  its  uninviting  confines.  When  March  came,  however,  it  was 
nearly  deserted,  only  a  little  more  than  two  companies  of  the  United 
States  troops  remaining.  Later  in  this  year  Colonel  C.  V.  DeLand,'of  a 
Michigan  regiment,  took  command,  and  the  camp  was  again  used  as  a  mili- 
tary prison.  Near  the  close  of  the  year  Colonel  DeLand  was  succeeded 
by  General  Orme,  who  was  succeeded  in  May,  1864,  by  Colonel  J.  C. 
Strong,  and  he  in  the  following  July  by  Colonel  B.  J.  Sweet.  The  num- 
ber of  rebel  prisoners  now  rapidly  increased,  and  it  was  found  that  the 
guard,  which  did  not  number  much  over  a  thousand,  was  entirely  inade- 
quate to  keep  them  safely.  In  August,  therefore,  a  Pennsylvania  regiment 
of  one  hundred  days  men  was  ordered  here  as  a  reinforcement,  and  in 
addition  thereto  the  Twenty-fourth  Ohio  Battery,  with  Parrott  guns,  soon 
arrived.  The  camp  was  abandoned  at  the  close  of  the  war,  having  been 
the  prison  house  of  about  thirty  thousand  men. 

Outside  of  the  camp  Chicago  was  a  busy  and  important  point.  The 
government  had  made  it  a  depot  for  the  purchase  of  supplies,  and  the 
purchases  amounted  to  millions  of  dollars.  Recruiting  went  steadily  on 
as  requisitions  for  men  were  made  by  the  government,  but  like  all  other 
cities,  Chicago  was  compelled  to  submit  at  last  to  a  draft,  but  unlike  many 
other  cities,  only  fifty-nine  conscripts  were  forced  into  the  army  from  her 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  209 

citizenship.  Had  she  had  credit  for  all  the  men  she  furnished  the  army 
and  navy  during  the  first  stages  of  the  war,  not  a  man  would  have  gone 
as  a  conscript  in  order  to  fill  her  quota. 

"In  November,  1864,"  says  Professor  Colbert,  "the  people  were 
startled  by  the  rumor  that  a  plot  had  been  formed  to  release  the  prisoners 
in  Camp  Douglas,  and  capture  and  sack  the  city,  on  the  eve  of  the  presi- 
dential election.'  A  large  number  of  men  from  the  southern  part  of  the 
State  had  arrived  in  the  city  a  few  days  previously,  with  no  ostensible 
purpose.  These  were  arrested,  with  several  residents  who  were  suspected 
of  being  rebel  sympathizers.  A  number  of  them  were  afterward  tried  by 
court-martial  in  Cincinnati,  but  after  the  close  of  the  war  most  of  them 
were  pardoned  and  allowed  to  return  home,  after  an  imprisonment  of  nine 
months.  The  plot,  if  ever  devised,  was  still-born." 

The  prosperity  of  Chicago  during  the  war  was  exceptionally  brilliant. 
Perhaps  no  better  description  of  it  can  be  given  than  by  quoting  Profes- 
sor Colbert  who  says  that,  "the  war  built  up  Chicago,  giving  a  wonderful 
stimulus  to  its  commerce  and  manufactures,  but  the  first  effect  was  disas- 
trous in  the  extreme.  The  shock  unsettled  every  one,  the  experience  being  so 
novel  that  very  few  were  able  to  form  even  a  faint  idea  of  its  influence  upon 
the  business  of  the  city.  But  it  is  due  to  the  merchants  to  say  that  they 
were  unwilling  to  take  offered  chances  of  gain.  Immediately  on  the  out- 
break of  hostilities  large  sums  of  gold  were  sent  to  Chicago  from  New 
Orleans  and  other  Southern  cities,  requesting  that  produce  should  be  sent 
in  exchange.  The  men  to  whom  these  orders  were  addressed,  one  and  all, 
sent  back  the  money,  saying  that  they  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  the 
sending  of  supplies  to  an  enemy. 

When  the  war  broke  out,  the  issues  of  Western  banks  were  largely 
based  on  Southern  stocks — there  being  not  less  than  twelve  million  dollars' 
worth  (?)  of  that  kind  of  property  in  the  State.    Of  course  it  rapidly  depre- 
ciated, causing  an  unnatural  fluctuation  in   the  price  of  exchange,  and  the 
market  value  of  all  kinds  of  produce.     Within  a  month  the  case  had  be- 
come so  desperate  that  the  newspapers  published  daily  lists  of  the  quotable 
values,  in  gold,  of  the  different  bank  bills,  these  quotations  ranging  all  the 
way  from  ten  cents  on   the  dollar  to  par — very  few  of  the  Blatter.     And 
these  quotations  fluctuated  so  widely  that  no  one  felt  sure  in  receiving  pay- 
ment that  the  quotation   would  be  sustained   till   he   could   pay  it  over  to 
some  one  else.     For  once  in  the  world's  history,  nearly  every  one  preferred 
paying  his  debts  to   keeping  the  'money'  on  hand.     Soon  thereafter  most 
of  the  Illinois  banks  went  out  of  existence,  and   within  a  few   weeks  all 
tracesj  of  the  'wild-cat'  had  disappeared  forever.      The  subsequent  experi- 
ence in  the  gradual  depreciation   of  government  currency,  the  consequent 
scarcity  of  small   change,  the   desperate   expedients  to  which  the  people 
resorted  before  the  issue  of  fractional  currency,  and  the  general   adoption 
of  the  national   bank-note  as  a  circulating   medium,  are  matters  of  general 
history  pertaining   no   more   to   Chicago   than  to  any  other  place   in  the 
Northern   States,  except  on  the  Pacific  coast,  where  the  people  used  a 


2io  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

metallic  currency  all  through  the  war.  An  attempt  was  made  to  arrest 
the  displacement  of  this  currency  by  the  circulation  of  a  document,  to 
which  many  of  the  leading  business  men  subscribed,  pledging  themselves 
to  take  the  bills  of  certain  banks  at  par  till  the  close  of  the  war.  But 
they  might  as  well  have  attempted  to  stop  the  torrent  of  Niagara  with  a 
wooden  spoon.  The  resolve  was  adhered  to  barely  three  days,  and  then 
the  stuff  disappeared  as  if  by  magic.  It  was  wonderful,  too,  to  see  how 
little  embarrassment  was  caused  by  the  withdrawal  of  so  much  currency 
from  circulation.  It  astonished  even  those  of  the  East,  but  they  soon  knew 
.  the  reason — learned  it  in  a  lesson  that  only  war  could  teach.  The  material 
of  the  nation's  prosperity  lay  at  the  West.  Cotton  was  deposed  from  his 
throne,  and  corn  and  pork  thenceforward  reigned  undisturbed  as  the  grand 
duumvirate  of  the  United  States.  The  people  of  the  East  were  obliged 
to  send  their  money  westward  if  they  would  receive  those  prime  neces- 
saries of  existence — rendered  doubly  necessary  by  the  enhanced  consump- 
tion attendant  upon  grim  war.  ^ 

As  the  exponent  of  Western  production,  Chicago  rapidly  rose  to  a 
much  higher  position  than  she  had  ever  before  occupied.  Agricultural 
production  was  wonderfully  stimulated  by  the  shedding  of  blood.  Then 
the  soldiers  needed  equipments.  The  supply  of  ammunition  was  princi- 
pally drawn  from  other  points,  but  for  food,  clothing,  saddlery,  horses  and 
wagons,  and  the  other  etceteras  of  the  march  and  the  camp,  Chicago  was 
called  upon  to  the  utmost  of  her  resources,  the  government  establishing  an 
agency  here  at  an  early  day.  The  city  was  really  an  important  base  of 
supply;  far  enough  away  from  the  scene  of  strife  to  be  safe,  and  yet  so 
closely  connected  by  rail  with  every  part  of  the  country  that  troops  and 
munitions  could  be  moved  with  facility  to  any  point  desired." 

When  the  war  ended,  and  the  citizen  soldiery  returned  to  their  homes, 
there  was  a  reaction,  and  Chicago  was  faced  by  a  threatened  adversity, 
which  came  near  staggering  its  best  minds.  Values  depreciated  nearly 
fifty  per  cent,  and  the  evening  shadows  seemed  to  be  falling  upon  the  very 
height  of  the  noonday,  but  the  sound  judgment  which  has  always  character- 
ized the  conduct  of  the  business  men  of  Chicago,  led  the  city  out  of  the 
threatened  storm  into  the  sunshine.  Until  the  great  conflagration,  here- 
tofore described,  no  city  in  the  world  enjoyed  an  aggregate  of  prosperity 
equal  to  that  of  Chicago. 


21  I 


WILLIAM  ALDRICH. 


This  country  is  greatly  indebted  for  much  of  the  sturdiness  of  character 
and  tenacious  devotion  to  principle  which  characterize  its  people,  to  the 
religious  sect  known  as  Quakers.  In  almost  every  section  of  the  nation 
the  influence  of  the  precepts  of  these  worthy  people  are  observable  in  the 
lives  of  their  representatives  and  in  the  influence  of  those  lives  upon 
the  communities  in  which  they  are  found.  Often  the  outward  semblance 
is  wanting  in  these  descendants,  but  never  so  with  the  inner.  The  seed 
which  was  carefully  sown  in  the  heart  of  youth  is  always  found  ripening 
in  a  bountiful  harvest  in  the  soul  of  age.  To  say,  therefore,  that  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch  is  of  Quaker  origin,  at  once  suggests  that  the  life  we 
are  about  to  write  has  been  one  of  exceptional  honor,  integrity  and  useful- 
ness; and  such  it  has  been  in  a  marked  degree.  In  the  privacy  of  home, 
the  activity  of  business,  or  in  official  position,  it  has  been  a  life  of  modest 
bearing,  but  of  prominent  regard  for  the  highest  interests  of  society, 
country  and  humanity. 

William  Aldrich  was  born  on  a  farm  in  Greenfield,  Saratoga  county, 
New  York,  January,  1820,  and  is  the  son  of  William  and  Mercy  Farnum 
Aldrich,  who  were  prominent  members  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  the 
father  being  a  preacher  of  the  sect.  The  son  spent  his  boyhood  amidst 
the  scenes  of  his  birth,  receiving  a  common  school  and  academic  education, 
and  what  was  of  equal  importance  being  taught  by  his  parents,  according 
to  their  religious  belief,  that  success  in  life  depended  upon  an  unostentatious 
practice  of  morality  and  integrity. 

With  such  a  foundation  for  future  achievements  young  Aldrich  went 
out  into  the  world  and  commenced  a  career  which  has  been  distinguished 
for  activity  and  profitable  direction.  In  1846  we  find  him  at  Jackson, 
Michigan,  engaged  in  mercantile  business.  Five  years  later  he  removed 
to  Two  Rivers,  Wisconsin,  and  commenced  the  manufacture  of  lumber, 
opening  a  yard  in  Chicago  in  1852.  While  in  business  at  Two  Rivers,  he 
was  also  largely  engaged  in  the  building  of  mills,  factories  and  vessels. 
In  1859  he  disposed  of  his  interests  at  this  place,  and  in  company  with 
another  gentleman,  purchased  a  large  estate,  including  flour  and  saw  mills, 
at  Watervliet,  Michigan,  where  for  two  years  in  addition  to  merchandizing, 
he  was  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  flour  and  lumber.  Selling  out  these 
interests  in  1861,  he  removed  to  Chicago,  and  from  that  time  until  1877 
vvas  interested  in  a  prosperous  wholesale  grocery  business.  Withdrawing 


212  CHICAGO  AND  ITS   DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

from  this  business  he  organized   the  Chicago  Linseed  Oil  Company  in 
1878,  and  has  been  its  president  since  its  organization. 

Besides  this  active  business  experience,  Mr.  Aldrlch  has  been  called 
by  the  people  to  serve  in  numerous  places  of  honor  and  trust,  in  all  of 
which  he  has  acquitted  himself  in  a  way  that  reflected  honor  upon  his  own 
name  and  gave  the  fullest  satisfaction  to  his  constituency.  While  a  resi- 
dent of  Two  Rivers  he  filled  the  office  of  Town  Superintendent  of 
Schools  from  1852  to  1855;  was  Trustee  of  the  village  in  1855-7;  Chair- 
man of  the  Board  of  County  Supervisors  in  1857-8,  and  was  a  member 
of  the  Wisconsin  legislature  in  1859.  Very  soon  after  removing  to 
Watervliet,  Michigan,  he  was  elected  Supervisor,  and  thus  was  compelled 
to  bear  what  most  men,  engaged  as  extensively  in  business  as  he  was, 
would  consider  more  than  a  fair  share  of  public  responsibility.  Nor  has 
his  citizenship  in  Chicago  been  less  free  .  of  official  weight.  Elected  as 
Alderman  from  the  Third  Ward  in  1876,  before  the  year  had  expired  he 
wa's  elected  a  member  of  the  forty-fifth  Congress  from  the  first  Illinois 
district,  was  re-elected  in  1878,  and  again  in  iSSo. 

As  a  representative  in  Congress  Mr.  Aldrich  has  been  a  quiet,  patient 
and  tireless  worker  in  the  interests  of  his  district  and  in  behalf  of  the 
whole  country.  While  so  many  of  our  public  men  during  the  past  few 
years  have,  in  one  way  and  another,  compromised  their  honor,  or  at  least 
excited  suspicion,  Mr.  Aldrich  has  crowned  himself  with  laurels,  the 
beauty  and  purity  of  which  a  breath  of  scandal  has  never  faded  or  polluted, 
and  he  will  retire  from  his  high  office,  at  his  own  option,  with  the  respect 
of  the  thousands  who  admire  his  modesty,  no  less  than  his  efficiency,  as  a 
public  officer.  His  public  career  has  been  marked  by  no  eccentricities,  no 
stepping  aside  into  by-paths  where  temptation  to  ease  or  emolument  allure, 
but  has  been  distinguished  only  by  his  faithful  discharge  of  duty. 

In  1846,  Mr.  Aldrich  was  married  at  Aurora,  New  York,  to  Anna 
M.  Howard,  a  lady  of  refinement  and  charming  character,  who  has 
been  for  these  nearly  two  score  of  years,  a  light  in  his  home,  as  well  as  of 
a  large  circle  of  devoted  friends.  Three  children  have  blessed  this  union, 
William  Howard,  thirty-two,  James  Franklin,  twenty-seven,  and  Frederick 
Clement,  eighteen  years  of  age,  all  young  men  of  signal  promise  and 
worthy  of  their  parentage. 

In  personal  appearance  Mr.  Aldrich  is  much  younger  looking  than 
men  of  his  age  usually  are,  and  he  has  the  courteous  and  dignified  bearing 
of  an  old  style  gentleman.  His  manners  are  winning  and  assuring  to  the 
stranger,  and  he  is  readily  approachable  by  all  who  wish  to  secure  his 
attention  in  matters  of  public  or  private  business.  In  religious  belief  he  is 
a  Reformed  Episcopalian,  having  been  a  member  and  senior  warden  of 
Christ  Church,  since  its  organization  in  1870.  Many  lessons  could  be 
profitably  drawn  from  Mr.  Aldrich's  life,  did  the  space  permit,  but  they 
will  readily  suggest  themselves.  It  has  been  a  life  of  great  usefulness  arid 
honor. 


2I3 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    PROFESSION. 

The  medical  colleges  of  Chicago  are  a  branch  of  her  fine  educational 
facilities,  of  which  she  has  abundant  reason  for  self-congratulation.    While 
necessarily  young  in  years  these  institutions  have  won  such  wide  reputation 
for  thoroughness  of  instruction  and  honorable  management,  that  not  only 
do  they  enjoy  the  full  confidence  of  the  profession,  but  are  favored  with  a 
most  flattering  patronage.      Schools  for   professional  training  almost  in- 
variably reflect  the  local  character  of  the  profession  which  they  represent. 
Usually  the  outcome  of  local   conception  and  effort,  this  would   naturally 
be  expected  and  would  legitimately  follow.     If  we  assume  that  such  is  the 
rule,  and  that  Chicago's  medical  schools  are  not  an  exception,  we  establish 
the  high  character  of  such  schools  in  this  city,  without  further  attempt  at 
substantiation  of  that  claim  for  them.     Chicago  has  been  and  is  singularly 
favored  with  medical  ability.     It  made  its  appearance  early  in  the   history 
of  the  town  and  has  kept  pace  in  development  and  increase  with  the  rapid 
march  of  progress.     If  we  go  back  to  those  early  days  when  the  rude  fort 
and   its  garrison   comprised   about  all   that  there  was  of  Chicago,  we  find 
Dr.  Isaac  V.  Van  Voorhees  in  the  position  of  post  surgeon,  and  the  pioneer 
physician  of  Chicago.     He  died  bravely  in  the  fight  between  the   Indians 
and  the  soldiers  on  the  attempted  march  to  Fort  Wayne,  after  the  abandon- 
ment of  the  fort  in  1812.     In  "Waubun,"  by  Mrs.  John  H.  Kinzie,  abook 
published  in  1857,  an  attack,  it  is   true,  is  made  upon  the  courage  of  Dr. 
Van  Voorhees  in  that  conflict,  the  same  being  the  repetition  of  the  story 
of  Mrs.  Helm,  who  represents  the  surgeon  as  showing  cowardice  and  her- 
self as  reproving  him,  and   finally  that  as   an  Indian  was  dragging   her 
toward  the  lake,  she  saw  the  lifeless  body  of  the  surgeon,  who  had  doubt- 
less  been   felled  with   a  tomahawk.      Dr.  James  Nevins  Hyde,  in  a  well 
written  book  called  "Early  Medical  Chicago,"  published  at  Chicago  by  the 
Fergus  Printing  Company,  comes  to   the  defense  of  Dr.  Van  Voorhees, 
and  says,  very  truly,  "that  without  questioning  the  veracity   of  the  writer, 
it  is  evident  that  the  incidents  narrated  rest  upon  the  recollection  of  a  single 
individual,  and  that  individual   a  woman   surrounded   by  circumstances  of 
extreme  peril  and  excitement.       She  appears  as  the  heroine  of  the  story, 
and,  therefore,  due  allowance  should   be  made  for  partiality  of  statement. 
Dr.  Van  Voorhees,  moreover,  was  evidently   suffering   from  his  wounds. 
What  other  injuries  he  may  have  sustained,  whether  of  the  brain,  chest  or 
abdomen,  we  cannot   know.      Whether,  indeed,   he  was   wounded   unto 


214  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

death,  and  sank  lifeless  to  the  ground  soon  after,  rather  as  the  result  of  this 
than  from  the  blow  of  a  tomahawk  cannot  be  determined.  Jurists  as  well 
as  medical  men  learn  to  accept  with  great  reserve,  statements  made  either 
in  articulo  mortis  or  in  the  immediate  peril  of  violent  death.  Too  many 
surgeons  have  exhibited  not  only  consummate  skill,  but  a  splendid  courage 
upon  the  field  of  battle,  for  their  professional  brethren  to  doubt  the  com- 
patibility of  these  virtues.  They  will  only  remember,  therefore,  of  their 
martyred  representative  in  the  massacre  of  Chicago,  that  he  was  sorely 
wounded  in  the  discharge  of  his  professional  duties,  and  that  he  died  the 
death  of  a  soldier." 

The  words  of  Dr.  Hyde,  no  doubt,  will  be  thought  by  many  to  be 
simply  expressive  of  a  jealous  regard  for  the  honor  of  his  profession,  and 
of  a  sentiment  which  the  actual  evidence  in  the  case  deprives  of  even  the 
slightest  foundation.  Instead  of  this  being  true,  however,  the  very  best 
evidence  obtainable  in  such  cases,  and  such  evidence  as  is  and  must  neces- 
sarily be  relied  upon — the  official  report  of  the  engagement — mentions  the 
loss  of  Dr.  Van  Voorhees  as  deplorable,  which  Captain  Heald,  even  had 
he  been  a  most  partial  friend  to  the  surgeon,  would  hardly  have  done  had  he 
proved  recreant  in  such  an  hour  of  peril.  The  man  or  woman  who  courted 
death  and  died  to  open  the  way  for  civilization  to  establish  itself  on  these 
once  uninviting  prairies,  deserves  better  at  our  hands  than  to  have  his  or 
her  memory  marred  by  a  single  whisper  of  detraction,  unless  unworthiness 
of  character  shall  be  established  by  the  most  unmistakable  testimony. 

Dr.  Alexander  Wolcott  was  the  next  physician  of  whom  we  have  any 
record,  and  he  came  from  Connecticut  as  an  Indian  Agent  for  the  govern- 
ment in  1820,  and  succeeded  John  Jewett  in  that  position.  Dr.  Wolcott  acted 
as  post  surgeon  until  1823 — when  Dr.  S.  G.  J.  Decamp  was  appointed — and 
also  practiced  outside  the  fort.  Soon  after  arriving  here  he  was  married 
to  Ellen  M.  Kinzie,  daughter  of  John  Kinzie,  and  who  at  the  time  of  her 
marriage  was  only  sixteen  years  of  age.  Dr.  Wolcott  was  born  February 
I4th,  1790,  and  died  at  Chicago  in  1830. 

Following  Dr.  Wolcott  came  Dr.  Elijah  D.  Harmon,  who  came  from 
Vermont  and  arrived  in  Chicago  in  the  Autumn  of  the  same  year  in  which 
Dr.  Wolcott  died.  Dr.  Harmon  was  born  at  Bennington,  Vermont,  on 
the  twentieth  of  August,  1772;  studied  medicine  at  Manchester  in  his 
native  State,  and  began  the  practice  of  his  profession  when  twenty-five 
years  of  age,  at  Burlington  in  the  same  State.  In  the  war  of  1812  he 
volunteered  as  a  surgeon,  returning,  at  the  close  of  that  conflict,  to  his 
home  in  Burlington  and  resuming  his  practice.  In  1829  he  visited  the 
West,  spend  ing  several  months  in  Jacksonville,  Illinois,  and  finally  decided 
to  settle  in  Chicago.  There  being  no  surgeon  in  the  fort  at  the  time  of 
Dr.  Harmon's  arrival,  he  was  immediately  given  the  position,  which  he 
filled  -with  undisturbed  equanimity  until  the  arrival  of  General  Winfield  S. 
Scott,  with  a  detachment  of  five  companies  of  troops,  to  participate  in  the 
Black  Hawk  War.  The  cholera  having  broken  out  among  the  soldiers, 
General  Scott  demanded  of  Dr.  Harmon  his  exclusive  attention  to  the 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  215 

companies  under  his  care,  to  the  neglect  of  those  outside  the  garrison,  who 
were  stricken  with  the  dreadful  disease.  This  was  the  only  unpleasant 
feature  in  Dr.  Harmon's  personal  experience  as  the  surgeon  of  the  fort. 
He  ministered  to  the  soldiers  with  the  most  signal  success,  and  at  the 
same  time  found  opportunity  to  attend  to  outside  cases. 

After  General  Scott  and  his  command  had  gone  South  the  Doctor  se- 
cured the  Kinzie  house,  taking  possession  of  it  in  the  Spring  of  1833, 
intending  henceforth  to  devote  himself  to  the  practice  of  medicine  among 
the  inhabitants.  Dr.  Hyde,  by  way  of  describing  the  Doctor's  surroundings,  % 
quotes  the  rather  graphic  description  of  the  place  in  1833  by  Latrobe,  in  the 
Western  Portraiture  and  Emigrants'  Guide,  which  was,  "a  doctor  or  two, 
two  or  three  lawyers,  a  land-agent  and  five  or  six  hotel  keepers;  these  may 
be  considered  the  stationary  occupants  and  proprietors  of  the  score  of  clap- 
board houses  around  you;  then,  for  the  birds  of  passage,  exclusive  of  the 
Pottawatomies,  you  have  emigrants,  speculators,  horse  dealers  and  stealers, 
rogues  of  every  description,  white,  black  and  red,  quarter-breeds,  and 
men  of  no  breed  at  all,  dealers  in  pigs,  poultry  and  potatoes,  creditors  of 
Indians,  sharpers,  peddlers,  grog  sellers,  Indian  agents,  traders  and  con- 
tractors to  supply  the  post." 

Dr.  Harmon,  however,  did  not  continue  in  uninterrupted  practice  very 
long  after  removing  into  the  Kinzie  house.  In  the  Spring  of  1834  he 
left  for  a  visit  to  Texas,  and  until  the  third  of  January,  1869 — on  which 
elate  he  died — he  made  several  visits  to  that  State,  making  some  profitable 
investments  therein. 

During  the  time  we  have  been  describing,  Dr.  S.  G.  J.  Decamp  and 
Dr.  J.  B.  Finley  occupied  the  position  of  post  surgeons.  Dr.  Decamp  made 
the  report  of  the  cholera  cases  in  the  fort,  a^nd,  therefore,  the  medical 
department  must  have  been  under  his  direction.  Of  Dr.  J.  B.  Finley  there 
seems  to  be  no  record,  but  there  is  other  evidence  that  he  had  been  the 
surgeon  in  the  fort  but  a  short  time  previous  to  the  advent  of  Dr.  Harmon. 

On  March  I5th,  1833,  Surgeon  Phillip  Maxwell  reported  for  duty  at 
Fort  Dearborn,  having  been  ordered  so  to  do  during  the  previous  month. 
Dr.  Maxwell  was  born  at  Guilford,  in  the  State  of  Vermont,  on  the  third 
of  April,  1799.  He  graduated  in  medicine,  in  one  of  the  universities  in 
Vermont,  and  afterward  removed  to  Sackett's  Harbor,  New  York,  where 
he  commenced  the  practice  of  his  profession.  In  the  year  1832  he  was 
appointed  assistant  surgeon  in  the  United  States  army,  and  in  the  following 
year,  as  already  stated,  reported  for  duty  at  this  post,  where  he  remained 
until  the  fort  "was  abandoned,  December  28th,  1836.  Some  years  after  he 
resigned  his  surgeoncy,  to  which  he  had  been  promoted  in  1838,  and 
devoted  himself  to  private  practice  until  the  time  of  his  death,  November 
5th,  1859. 

At  the  first  meeting  of  the  Rock  River  Medical  Society  it  was  stated 
in  an  address  by  Dr.  Josiah  C.  Goodhue  that  Dr.  Edmund  S.  Kimberly 
followed  Dr.  Harmon — who  is  described  as  "the  pioneer  among  the  medical 
faculty  of  this  corner  of  Illinois" — that  Dr.  John  T.  Temple  came  next, 


216  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

Dr.  Henry  Clark  next,  and  that  Drs.  W.  B.  Egan,  John  W.  Eldridge  and 
Goodhue  himself  soon  followed.  All  of  these  gentlemen  became  more  or 
less  generally  known,  and  the  career  of  each  is  regarded  as  adding  luster 
to  the  history  of  the  place  with  which  their  names  are  so  closely  united. 

We  have  thus  been  rapidly  led  from  the  dawning  of  medical  science 
in  Chicago  into  the  full  flush  of  the  morning,  and  have  about  arrived  at 
the  event  we  have  been  anticipating,  the  arrival  of  Dr.  Daniel  Brainard,the 
projector  of  Rush  Medical  College.  Dr.  Brainard  arrived  in  Chicago  in 
the  month  of  September,  1835.  He  was  born  in  Oneida  county,  New 
York,  May  I3th,  1812,  and  after  receiving  a  finished  common  school  and 
academic  education,  began  the  study  of  medicine,  graduating  from  Jeffer- 
son College,  Philadelphia,  in  the  year  1834.  After  practicing  for  a  short 
time  in  Whitesboro,  in  his  native  county,  he  came  to  Chicago  as  above, 
and  in  a  reasonable  time  entered  upon  a  lucrative  pi'actice,  ultimately 
becoming  deservedly  famous  as  a  physician  and  surgeon. 

In  the  Fall  of  1836  Dr.  Brainard  entered  upon  the  initiatory  work  of 
causing  his  cherished  idea  of  establishing  a  medical  school  or  college  to 
take  practical  shape.  An  Act  of  incorporation  was  then  drawn  by  him, 
assisted  by  Dr.  Goodhue,  late  of  Freeport,  in  Illinois,  but  then  a  resident 
of  Chicago,  which  Act  was  passed  by  the  legislature,  and  approved  by  the 
Governor  March  2d,  1837.  Owing,  however,  to  the  financial  panic  which 
has  been  previously  noticed,  no  organization  took  place  until  1843.  In 
the  Autumn  of  that  year  a  faculty  was  constituted  of  Drs.  Brainard, 
Knapp,  McLean'  and  Blaney,  and  a  sixteen  weeks  session  of  the  college 
was  commenced  on  the  second  day  of  December  following.  Twenty-two 
students  attended  this  course,  and  the  lectures  were  delivered  in  a  small 
room  on  Clark  street.  Rush  Medical  College,  however,  had  been  estab- 
lished for  permanency,  and  temporary  quarters  were  occupied  for  only  a 
brief  time,  when  a  modest  structure  costing  less  than  three  thousand  and 
five  hundred  dollars,  was  designed  by  the  eminent  architect,  John  M.  Van 
Osdel,  and  built  upon  the  corner  of  Dearborn  avenue  and  Indiana  street. 
This  structure  was  erected  in  1844,  and  the  necessary  funds  were  obtained 
by  loan  and  subscription.  Of  course  it  was  not  much  of  a  building,  but  it 
belonged  to  the  corporation  and  was  the  small  beginning  of  the  greater 
things  which  have  followed. 

In  1855  *-ne  moc^est  edifice  was  found  to  be  so  entirely  inadequate  to 
the  wants  of  the  college,  that  the  sum  of  fifteen  thousand  dollars  was 
expended  in  remodeling  and  enlarging  it.  After  the  alterations  were  made 
the  building  was  capable  of  accommodating  two  hundred  and  fifty  students. 
In  this  building  the  college  was  accommodated  until  1867,  when  a  new 
edifice  was  erected  upon  the  vacant  part  of  the  college  lot,  and  the  old 
building  was  made  simply  an  appendage  to  the  new  structure.  The  cost 
of  the  new  building  and  of  the  improvements  upon  the  old  at  this  time 
was  seventy  thousand  dollars.  The  college  was  well  supplied  with  appa- 
ratus, library,  museum  and  fixtures.  On  the  ninth  of  October,  1871, 
however,  the  fire  fiend  spared  not  this  monument  to  the  interest  of  the 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS   DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  217 

medical  fraternity  and  of  the  people  of  Chicago  in  education,  but  buildings 
and  all  that  belonged  to  them  were  laid  in  the  sea  of  ashes.  Lectures, 
however,  recommenced  within  four  days  after  the  fire,  and  were  given  in 
the  amphitheater  of  the  county  hospital.  Until  the  erection  of  the  new 
building  subsequent  sessions  were  held  in  a  temporary  building  erected  on 
the  grounds  of  the  old  hospital.  The  new  and  elegant  college  building 
erected  after  the  great  fire,  stands  on  .the  corner  of  Wood  and  West  Harri- 
son streets,  and  cost,  with  the  lot,  fifty-four  thousand  dollars. 

The  faculty  of  the  college  has  always  been  eminent  for  the  learning 
of  the  professors.  From  the  organization  of  the  college  until  the  present 
its  professors  at  various  times,  and  in  addition  to  those  already  mentioned, 
have  been  Austin  Flint,  M.  D.;  G.  N.  Fitch,  M.  D.;  William  B.  Herrick, 
M.  D.;  J.  Adams  Allen,  M.  D.;  DeLaskie  Miller,  M.  D.;  R.  L.  Rea,  M. 
D.;  Ephraim  Ingals,  M.  D.;  A.  S.  Hudson,  M.  D.;  Joseph  Warren,  M.  D.; 
Moses  Gunn,  M.  D.;  Henry  M.  Lyman,  M.D.;  Edwin  Powell,  M.  D. ;  J. 
P.  Ross,  M.  D.;  E.  L.  Holmes,  M.  D.;  James  Nevins  Hyde,  M.D.;  James 
H.  Etheridge,  M.  D.;  Charles  T.  Parks,  M.  D.;  and  Walter  S.  Haines, 
M.  D. 

The  first  graduate  of  Rush  Medical  College,  and  the  only  one  in 
1843-4,  was  William  Butterfield.  In  184^-5  the  college  graduated  eleven; 
in  1845-6,  ten;  in  1846-7,  nineteen;  in  1847-8,  thirty ;  in  1848-9,  eighteen; 
in  1849-50,  forty-three;  in  1850-1,  thirty;  in  1851-2,  thirty-seven: 
in  1852-3,  thirty-four;  in  1853-4,  thirty-seven;  in  1854-5,  forty-one;  in 
1855-6,  forty-one;  in  1856-7, forty-one;  in  1857-8,  thirty-seven;  in  1858-9, 
thirty-one;  in  1859-60,  thirty-five;  in  1860-1,  thirty-seven;  in  1861-2, 
thirty-five;  in  1862-3,  fifty-eight;  in  1863-4,  eighty;  m  J^4~55  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty-four;  in  1865—6,  ninety;  in  1866-7,  seventy-one;  in  1867-8, 
one  hundred  and  seventeen;  in  1868-9,  one  hundred  and  eight;  in 
1869-70,  one  hundred  and  thirty-Uiree;  in  1870-1,  eighty-five;  in  1871-2, 
seventy-nine;  in  1872-3,  sixty-three;  in  1873-4,  seventy -four ;  in  1874-5, 
seventy-eight;  in  1875-6,  seventy-seven;  in  1876-7,  one  hundred  and 
eleven;  in  1877-8,  one  hundred  and  twenty-eight;  in  1878-9,  one  hundred 
and  twenty-two. 

These  magnificent  results  are  the  fruits  of  the  genius,  devoted  appli- 
cation and  energy  of  Dr.  Brainard,  supplemented  by  the  exceptionally 
rare  talent  which  aided  him,  and  which  has  guarded  and  governed  the 
institution  which  he  conceived,  since  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1866, 
the  founder  of  Rush  Medical  College  being  a  victim  to  the  scourge  of 
Asiatic  cholera.  If,  perchance,  he  may  know  something  of  what  happens 
amidst  the  scenes  of  his  labors  in  the  advancement  of  medical  knowledge 
in  Chicago,  the  progress  of  the  offspring  of  his  thought  must  be  a  bright 
beam  from  the  sun  which  now  illumines  his  pathway;  but  whether  he 
does  or  not,  his  name  is  brilliant  among  the  revered  of  Chicago's  distin- 
guished citizens,  and  thousands  who  never  heard  his  name  spoken,  have 
felt  the  healing  touch  of  those  who  have  gone  forth  from  his  college  to 
brighten  the  drooping  hopes  and  to  crayon  the  picture  of  health  upon  the 


218  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

pallid  cheek,  in  the  chamber  of  suffering.  This  is  all  the  obelisk  that  such 
a  man  as  Dr.  Brainard  would  desire  to  bear  his  name  down  through  the 
years  into  the  centuries  hence. 

The  Chicago  Medical  College  is  organized  under  a  charter  granted 
to  a  corporation  under  the  name  of  Lind  University.  On  the  twelfth  of 
March,  1859,  Doctors  David  Rutter,  Ralph  N.  Isham,  Hosmer  A.  Johnson 
and  Edmund  Andrews  met  to  consider  the  project  of  instituting  this  medical 
school.  At  this  meeting  an  agreement  was  entered  into  between  the  parties 
named  and  the  executive  committee  of  the  Lind  University,  and  the 
Chicago  Medical  College  was  established. 

The  first  course  of  lectures  was  opened  to  a  class  of  thirty-three,  on 
the  northwest  corner  of  Market  and  Randolph  streets,  under  the  following 
faculty:  David  Rutter,  M.  D.,  Emeritus  Professor  of  Obstetrics  and 
Diseases  of  Women  and  Children;  H.  A.  Johnson,  M.  D.,  Professor  of 
Physiology  and  Histology;  R.  N.  Isham,  M.  D.,  Professor  of  Surgical 
Anatomy  and  the  Operations  of  Surgery;  W.  H.  Byford,  M.  D.,  Profes- 
sor of  Midwifery  and  Diseases  of  Women  and  Children;  E.  Andrews,  M. 
D.,  Professor  of  the  Principles  and  Practice  in  Surgery;  J.  H.  Hollister, 
M.  D.,  Professor  of  Physiology  and  Histology;  N.  S.  Davis,  M.  D.,  Pro- 
fessor of  the  Principles  and  Practice  of  Medicine;  M.  K.  Taylor,  M.  D., 
Professor  of  General  Pathology  and  Public  Hygiene;  Titus  Deville,  M. 
D.,  Professor  of  Descriptive  Anatomy;  Dr.  Mahla,  Professor  of  Chem- 
istry, and  Hon.  H.  G.  Spafford,  Professor  of  Medical  Jurisprudence. 

In  1863  the  college  erected  a  building  on  the  corner  of  State  and 
Twenty-second  streets,  which  was  occupied  until  1870,  when  having  also 
become  the  Medical  School  of  the  Northwestern  University — this  arrange- 
ment being  made  in  1867 — the  institution  was  removed  to  the  commodious 
and  beautiful  building  on  the  corner  of  Prairie  avenue  and  Twenty-sixth 
street. 

The  Chicago  Medical  College  is,  according  to  Doctor  Hyde,  the 
instigator  of  an  innovation  upon  old  practices  which  Eastern  medical  schools 
are  unwilling  to  acknowledge  it  the  author  of.  Doctor  Hyde  says  in  his 
Early  Medical  Chicago,  before  referred  to:  "From  the  commencement  of 
the  organization  of  this  college,  in  1859,  it  adopted  and  carried  into  practice 
the  graded  system  of  instruction;  first  dividing  the  branches  embraced  in 
the  curriculum  into  two  series,  and  classifying  the  students  accordingly. 
On  the  twenty-fifth  of  April,  1868,  the  faculty  arrranged  the  curriculum 
of  the  college  so  that  three  consecutive  courses  of  lectures  should  be  given, 
with  a  separate  group  of  studies  for  each  of  the  three  years  of  pupilage. 
The  honor  which  is  due  the  Chicago  Medical  College  for  the  inauguration 
of  this  scheme  has  been  persistently  ignored  by  some  of  the  medical  schools 
in  the  East.  It  is  certainly  gratifying  to  note  that  this  step  in  the  direction 
of  that  reform  in  medical  education  which  is  now  felt  to  be  imperatively 
demanded,  was  first  taken  in  Chicago." 

It  is  not  the  first  instance  of  the  East  attempting  to  claim  the  laurels 
"belonging  to  the  West.  In  all  that  pertains  to  the  ennobling  of  humanity, 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS   DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  219 

from  our  Lovejoy  in  the  conflict  of  freedom  against  human  bondage,  to 
our  admiration  and  patronage  of  all  the  arts  and  sciences  that  lift  man  up 
to  God,  the  West  is  willing  to  compete  with  all  that  the  East  can  present 
for  competition.  Acknowledging  what  the  fathers  have  done  for  the  sons, 
who  have  come  here  with  the  Puritan  principles  of  Plymouth  Rock,  the 
aristocratic  feeling  of  the  Knickerbockers  of  New  York,  or  the  plain  open 
honesty  of  New  Jersey,  the  West  claims  ability  to  teach  the  East  the 
methods  of  making  life  the  most  profitable  and  enjoyable.  In  art,  science, 
and  humanity  it  claims  to  be,  and  can  substantiate  that  it  is,  a  rival  of 
the  East. 

During  the  Spring  and  Summer  of  1868  arrangements  were  perfected 
for  the  establishment  of  an  Eclectic  Medical  College  in  Chicago,  and  the 
first  course  of  lectures  was  inaugurated  on  the  second  of  November  of  that 
year,  in  rooms  on  the  north  side  of  Kinzie  street,  between  LaSalle  street 
and  Fifth  avenue.  The  names  of  the  first  faculty  were  Robert  A.  Gunn, 
M.  D.,  Professor  of  Surgery;  H.  K.  Whitford,  M.  D.,  Professor  of  Theory 
and  Practice;  H.  D.  Garrison,  M.  D.,  Professor  of  Chemistry  and  Toxi- 
cology; A.  L.  Claik,  M.  D.,  Professor  of  Obstetrics  and  Diseases  of 
Women;  John  Foreman,  M.  D.,  Professor  of  Anatomy;  Hayes  C.  French, 
M.  D.,  Professor  of  Physiology,  and  J.  F.  Cook,  M.  D.,  Professor  of 
Materia  Medica. 

Thirty  students  were  enrolled  and  in  attendance,  and  at  the  close  of 
the  session  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine  was  conferred  upon  ten. 
During  the  Winter  of  1868-9  *-ne  legislature  granted  a  charter  to  L.  S. 
Major,  W.  D.  Atchison,  H.  C.  French,  H.  D.  Garrison,  William  M.  Dale, 
H.  K.  Whitford,  A.  L.  Brown,  John  Foreman,  M.  R.  Teegarden,  R.  A. 
Gunn,  A.  L.  Clark  and  J.  F.  Cook,  and  their  successors,  constituting  them 
a  body  politic  and  corporate  by  the  name  of  The  Bennett  College  of 
Eclectic  Medicine  and  Surgery. 

L.  S.  Major,  M.  D.,  was  chosen  President  of  the  Board  of  Trustees. 
More  desirable  rooms  were  now  obtained  for  the  second  course  of  lectures, 
on  East  Washington  street,  and  the  Winter  course  of  1871  had  just  been 
commenced  when  the  great  fire  laid  the  building  and  its  contents  in  ruins. 
The  lectures,  however,  were  interrupted  but  for  one  week,  and  were 
recommenced  in  rooms  at  the  corner  of  State  and  Twenty-second  streets. 

Soon  after  this  the  building  numbered  46  South  Clark  street 
was  purchased  by  the  corporation  and  occupied  until  the  close  of  the 
Winter  session  of  1874-5.  This  building  having  been  found  too  small 
and  inconvenient  for  the  increasing  classes,  it  was  decided  in  the  Fall  of 
1874  to  sell  it,and  purchase  the  lots  upon  which  the  present  college  edifice 
is  located  at  numbers  511  and  513  State  street.  Work  upon  a  building 
forty  by  seventy  feet,  four  stories  with  basement  was  at  once  commenced, 
and  at  its  completion  in  the  Spring  of  1875,  the  college  at  once  took  posses- 
sion, with  ample  accommodations  for  two  hundred  and  fifty  students. 

In  1877  a  hospital  building  was  erected  in  the  rear  of  the  college  with 
a  capacity  for  accommodating  thirty-five  patients,  and  thus  rendering  the 


22O  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

study  of  clinical  medicine  more  easy,  affording  an  opportunity  to  present 
to  the  students  all  the  major  operations  in  surgery  with  very  many  of  a 
minor  character. 

With  the  exception  of  one  or  two  sessions  students  of  both  sexes  have 
been  admitted  to  this  college  upon  terms  of  perfect  equality,  and  during 
the  twelve  years  of  lectures  fourteen  female  students  have  availed  them- 
selves of  the  privilege  thus  offered,  and  graduated  with  honor.  The  whole 
number  of  graduates,  including  the  class  of  1880,  is  three  hundred  and 
eighty-four,  embracing  representatives  of  twenty-five  different  States. 

The  course  of  instruction  consists  of  five  didactic  lectures,  with  one 
hour  and  a  half  of  clinical  instruction  daily,  and  the  lecture  term  com- 
mences about  the  first  of  October,  and  continues  six  calendar  months.  The 
number  of  teachers  or  professors  is  thirteen. 

The  course  of  instruction  is  stated  in  a  recent  announcement  as 
"Eclectic  in  the  legitimate  sense  of  the  word.  "Adopting  improvements  by 
whomever  made,  the  faculty  aim  to  follow  wherever  truth  and  science  lead, 
and  inculcate  no  other  creed." 

There  are  two  homoeopathic  medical  colleges  in  the  city  which  are 
imparting  a  thorough  medical  education  to  their  students,  and  are  recog- 
nized by  that  school  of  practice  as  among  the  first  in  the  country.  Not 
so  old  as  some,  they  have  yet  made  a  record  of  which  those  who  believe  in 
the  system  which  they  teach,  and  a  large  part  of  the  public  which  believes 
that  the  community  is  benefited  by  educational  institutions,  are  abundantly 
satisfied  with.  So  far  as  we  know,  whatever  can  be  said  of  other  medical 
colleges  can  be  said  of  these.  Their  graduates  are  well  drilled  in  the  science 
of  medicine  and  are  generally  successful  in  its  practice. 

The  Chicago  Homoeopathic  College  was  chartered  in  July,  1876,  the 
incorporators  being  Leonard  Pratt,  M.  D.;  J.  S.  Mitchell,  M.'D.;  Albert 
G.  Beebe,  M.  D.;  Charles  Adams,  M.  D.;  Willis  Danforth,  M.  D.;  John 
W.  Streeter,  M.  D.;  R.  N.  Foster,  M.  D.;  J.  H.  Buffum,  M.  D.;  E.  M. 
Hale,  M.  D.;  A.  W.  Woodward,  M.  D.;  E.  H.  Pratt,  M.  D.;  John  R. 
Kippax,  M.  D.,  and  W.  H.  Woodyatt,  M.  D.  The  large  proportion  of  the 
incorporators  had  previously  been  members  of  the  faculty  of  Hahnemann 
College,  from  which  they  had  seceded  by  reason  of  a  disagreement  with 
the  Board  of  Trustees.  The  success  of  the  college  has  been  a  surprise,  it 
is  claimed,  to  its  most  sanguine  friends.  The  increasing  number  of  gradu- 
ates indicates  a  steadily  growing  popularity.  The  college  conferred  the 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine  upon  fifteen  in  1876-7,  upon  twenty-five  in 
1877-8,  and  upon  thirty-one  in  1879-80.  This  indicates  a  healthy  growth. 

The  college  building  is  located- on  Michigan  avenue,  and  is  fully  supplied 
with  all  that  a  first  class  medical  college  requires.  The  college  has  adopted 
the  graded-course  system  of  instruction.  The  faculty  is  as  follows:  George 
E.  Shipman,  A.  M.,  M.  D.,  Emeritus  Professor  of  Materia  Medica;  H.  P. 
Gatchell,  A.  M.,  M.  D.,  Emeritus  Professor  of  Physiology  and  Hygiene; 
Leonard  Pratt,  M.  D.,  Emeritus  Professor  of  Special  Pathology  and  Diag- 
nosis; J.  S.  Mitchell,  A.  M.,  M.  D.,  Professor  of  Institutes  and  Practice  of 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS   DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  221 

Medicine  and  Clinical  Medicine;  Albert  G.  Beebe,  A.  M.,  M,  D.,  and 
Charles  Adams,  M.  D.,  Professors  of  Principles  and  Practice  of  Surgery 
and  Clinical  Surgery;  Willis  Danforth,  M.  D.,  Professor  of  Gynoecological 
Surgery;  John  W.  Streeter,  M.  D.,  Clinical  Professor  of  Diseases  of 
Women;  R.  N.  Foster,  A.  M.,  M.  D.,  Professor  of  Obstetrics;  J.  H. 
Buffum,  M.  D.,  Professor  of  Ophthalmology  and  Otology;  E.  M.  Hale, 
M.  D.,  Professor  of  Materia  Medica  and  Therapeutics;  A.  W.  Wood- 
ward, M.  D.,  Professor  of  Analytical  and  Comparative  Materia  Medica; 
E.  H.  Pratt,  A.  M.,  M.  D.,  Professor  of  Anatomy;  John  R.  Kippax, 
LL.  B.,  M.  D.,  Professor  of  Principles  and  Practice  of  Medicine  and 
Medical  Jurisprudence;  R.  N.  Tooker,  M.  D.,  Professor  of  Physiology 
and  Diseases  of  Children;  Clifford  Mitchell,  A.  B.,  M.  D.,  Professor  of 
Chemistry  and  Toxicology;  N.  B.  Delamater,  M.  D.,  Clinical  Lecturer  on 
Mental  and  Nervous  Diseases;  Julia  Holmes  Smith,  M.  D.,  Lecturer 
on  Diseases  of  Women;  C.  F.  Bassett,  M.  D.',  Adjunct  Professor  of 
Physiology;  F.  H.  Newman,  M.  D.,  Lecturer  on  Pharmacology;  and 
C.  G.  Fuller,  Demonstrator  of  Histology  and  Microscopy. 

Hahnemann  Medical  College  is  the  older  of  the  two  homoeopathic 
colleges  located  here.  By  an  Act  of  the  legislature,  approved  February 
I4th,  1855,  George  A.  Gibbs,  Thomas  Hoyne,  John  H.  Dunham,  David 
S.  Smith,  George  E.  Shipman,  John  M.  Wilson,  William  H.  Brown, 
Joseph  B.  Dogget,  Norman  B.  Judd,  Orrington  Lunt,  and  their  associates, 
were  created  a  body  politic  and  corporate  by  the  name  and  style  of  The 
Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Hahnemann  Medical  College.  Organization 
under  the  Act,  however,  was  not  effected  until  1859.  Since  its  organiza- 
tion it  has  been  steadily  prosperous  in  the  main,  and  at  this  writing  is  in  a 
very  nourishing  condition,  having  a  faculty  of  distinguished  ability,  which 
is  very  devoted  -to  the  interests  of  medical  education.  There  is  connected 
with  the  college  a  hospital,  which  furnishes  a  capital  means  for  the  study 
of  clinical  medicine. 

The  special  peculiarities  of  the  plan  of  teaching  adopted  in  this  college 
are:  First,  that  the  course  of  instruction  given  is  so  largely  clinical  and 
objective  that  every  student  is  bi'ought  face  to  face  with  disease  in  all  of 
the  departments  of  clinical  study;  Second,  that  the  college  course  is  the 
complement  of  the  daily  drill  in  the  hospital;  Third,  that  the  corps  of 
clinical  teachers  in  the  Hahnemann  Hospital  is  composed  exclusively 
of  those  who  belong  to  its  college  faculty,  and  who  are  thus  privileged  to 
practice  what  they  teach  before  the  eyes,  and  for  the  benefit  of  their  pupils; 
Fourth,  that  these  hospital  facilities  are  amply  sufficient  for  practical  illus- 
tration; Fifth,  that  the  lectures  delivered  in  the  hospital  and  college  are 
given  by  men  of  age  and  experience,  of  character,  learning  and  reputation, 
of  honor,  dignity  and  responsibility;  and  Sixth,  that  since  there  are  but 
eight  members  in  its  regular  faculty,  the  students  are  examined  upon  those 
branches  only  which  they  mat  reasonably  be  expected  to  master  during 
their  pupilage,  and  which  may  best  fit  them  for  their  chosen  career. 

The   following   comprise   the  college   faculty:     D.  S.  Smith,   M.  D., 


222  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZKNS. 

Emeritus  Professor  of  Materia  Medica  and  Therapeutics;  N.  F.  Cooke, 
LL.  D.,  M.  D.,  Emeritus  Professor  of  Special  Pathology  and  Diagnosis; 
A.  E.  Small,  A.M.,  M.  D.,  Professor  of  the  Theory  and  Practice  of  Medi- 
cine; R.  Ludlam,  M.  D.,  Professor  of  the  Medical  and  Surgical  Diseases 
of  Women,  Obstetrics  arid  Clinical  Midwifery;  Temple  S.  Hoyne,  A.M., 
M.  D.,  Professor  of  Materia  Medica  and  Therapeutics,  and  Clinical  Lec- 
turer on  Venereal  and  Skin  Diseases;  George  A.  Hall,  JVL  D.,  Professor 
of  the  Principles  and  Practice  of  Surgery,  and  Clinical  Surgery;  Harlan 
P.  Cole,  M.  D.,  Professor  of  General  and  Surgical  Anatomy  and  Minor 
Surgery;  W.  J.  Hawkes,  M.  D.,  Professor  of  Physiology  and  Clinical 
Medicine;  C.  H.  Vilas,  M.  A.,  M.  D.,  Professor  of  Diseases  of  the  Eye 
and  Ear;  C.  Gilbert  Wheeler,  Ph.  D.,  M.  D.,  Professor  of  Chemistry 
and  Toxicology. 

Besides  these  there  is  the  following  auxiliary  corps  of  professors :  S. 
Leavitt,  M.  D.,  Adjunct  Professor  of  Obstetrics  and  Clinical  Midwifery; 
H.  B.  Fellows,  M.  D.,  Professor  of  the  Physiology  and  Pathology  of  the 
Nervous  System;  C.  E.  Laning,  M.  D.,- Adjunct  Professor  of  Physiology 
and  Demonstrator  of  Anatomy;  E.  S.  Bailey,  M.  D.,  Microscopist  to  the 
Hahnemann  Hospital;  C.  A.  Pusheck,  M.  D.,  Adjunct  Professor  of 
Chemistry  and  Toxicology. 

The  hospital  faculty  is  constituted  as  follows:  R.  Ludlam,  M.  D., 
Clinical  Professor  of  the  Medical  and  Surgical  Diseases  of  Women; 
Temple  S.  Hoyne,  A.  M.,  M.  D.,  Clinical  Professor  of  Venereal  and  Skin 
Diseases;  George  A.  Hall,  M.  D.,  Professor  of  Clinical  Surgery;  W.  J. 
Hawkes,  M.  D.,  Professor  of  Clinical  Medicine;  C.  H.  Vilas,  M.  A.,  M. 
D.,  Clinical  Professor  of  Eye  and  Ear  Diseases;  H.  B.  Fellows,  M.  D., 
Clinical  Professor  of  the  Diseases  of  the  Nervous  System;  C.  E.  Laning, 
M.  D.,  Clinical  Professor  of  the  Diseases  of  Children;  S.  Leavitt,  M.  D., 
Clinical  Professor  of  Obstetrics;  together  with  an  auxiliary  corps,  which 
is  composed  of  E.  S.  Bailey,  M.  D.,  Clinical  Assistant  to  the  Surgical 
Department;  C.  F.  Barker,  M.  D.,  Clinical  Assistant  to  the  Eye  and  Ear 
Department;  George  F.  Shears,  M.  D.,  Resident  Surgeon  in  the  Hahne- 
mann Hospital. 


223 


REUBEN  LUDLAM,  M.  D. 

In  a  country  like  ours  intellect  and  character  create  the  nobility  which 
all  classes  delight  to  honor;  and  where  these  are  supplemented  by  signal 
success,  the  world  becomes  enthusiastic  and  lavish  in  its  acknowledgment 
of  superiority.  Especially  is  this  true  when  a  man  shows  the  strength  of 
character  and  power  of  mind  to  discover  errors  which  early  teachings, 
habit  and  prejudice  have  operated,  for  years,  to  confirm  as  sacred  truths. 
The  world  to  a  humiliating  extent  has  been  Irving  itself  over  and  over,, 
from  the  beginning  of  time.  The  theories  and  example  of  the  parent 
become  the  rules  of  life  with  the  child,  and  history  repeats  itself  because 
human  thought  and  action  follow  in  the  groove  which  was  worn  centuries 
before.  Now  and  then  a  mind  is  strong  enough  to  think  for  itself  and  to 
devise  improvements  upon  the  methods  of  the  past;  and  to  such  minds 
the  world  is  altogether  indebted  for  its  progress. 

Dr.  Reuben  Ludiam  is  one  of  the  comparatively  few  men  who  rise 
into  the  sphere  of  original  thought,  and  take  position  in  advance  of  pre- 
vailing notions  and  prejudices.  With  the  utmost  respect  for  the  opinions, 
of  those  who  differ  with  him,  he  courteously  follows  the  path  wljich  scien- 
tific investigation  has  demonstrated  to  his  mind  to  be"  the  correct  one,  and 
is,  no  doubt,  willing  that  the  estimate  of  the  value  of  his  independence  to 
mankind,  shall  be  wholly  based  upon  the  results  of  his  professional  career. 
Educated  in  the  Allopathic  school  of  medicine,  but  progressive,  when 
progress  is  possible,  he  early  investigated  other  systems,  wishing  to  dis- 
cover the  merits  and  defects  of  each,  and  to  adopt  that  which  he  conceived 
to  be  most  closely  allied  to  science.  The  ability  and  urbanity  of  Dr. 
Ludiam  can  scarcely  be  better  shown  than  by  citing  the  unusual  fact  in 
such  cases,  that  notwithstanding  his  change  of  system,  and  the  too  preva- 
lent jealousy  existing  between  professional  men  of  the  different  schools  of 
practice,  his  reputation  as  a  physician  and  gentleman  is  not  higher  among 
his  immediate  professional  brethren  than  it  is  among  those  from  whose 
system  of  practice  he  seceded.  As  for  himself  he  sincerely  deprecates 
any  uncharitableness  and  bigotry  among  medical  men,  whether  found  in 
the  ranks  of  those  who  belong  to  his  own  school  of  practice  or  to  other 
schools.  In  1867  he  said  to  the  students  of  Hahnemann  Medical  College, 
in  a  lecture  on  Medical  Toleration: 

No  cause  is  more  likely  to  arouse  an  unfortunate  antagonism  among  doctors  of 
diflerent  creeds  than  the  assumption  by  either  party  of  an  exclusive  right  to  medical 


224  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

knowledge.  Positive  refusal  to  counsel  together,  direct  and  emphatic  denials  of  ability 
and  experience,  an  open  infraction  of  the  ninth  commandment,  the  display^  of  ungentle- 
manly  and  unchristian  conduct,  are  some  of  the  fruits  of  this  feeling.  Both  the 
instigators  and  the  victims  of  this  temper  of  mind  are  apt  to  talk  harshly,  and  to  put 
too  much  vinegar  into  their  ink  when  they  write  for  the  medical  pi  ess.  Jt  is  provoking 
to  have  it  said  that  one  is  stupid,  incompetent,  unscrupulous;  to  be  classed  with  im- 
postors of  every  kind,  from  Paracelsus  to  the  inventor  of  the  last  nostrum;  to  be 
rebuked  and  ridiculed  for  professing  a  faith  that  is  founded  upon  actual  experiment  and 
observation. 

It  does  ruffle  one's  temper  to  be  chronicled  as  ignorant  of  the  collateral  sciences 
by  a  man  who  supposes,  for  example,  that  the  prostate  gland  is  to  be  found  in  the  brain, 
or  Peyer's  patches  in  the  seat  of  his  patient's  pantaloons!  But  it  would  be  unmanly 
and  cowardly  to  yield  to  abuse  in  lieu  of  argument;  to  be  frightened  from  our  post  of 
dutv  by  the  smell  of  the  burning  fuse  and  the  threatened  explosion.  The  rock  of  con- 
fidence between  the  public  and  the  profession  may  be  blasted  and  rent  in  twain ;  but,  if 
we  are  competent  and  skillful,  and  withal  self-poised  and  charitable,  we  shall  escape 
without  so  much  as  the  smell  of  fire  upon  our  garments. 

Because  Hahnemann,  whose  name  our  college  is  proud  to  bear,  was  opposed, 
maligned,  abused,  and  persecuted  from  city  to  city,  we  are  not  to  take  up  cudgels  against 
all  those  who  adopt  the  faith  of  his  enemies,  and  who  continue  to  wage  a  war  of  ex- 
termination against  us  as  heretics.  Because  he  was  fallible,  we  need  not  be  ferocious. 
Because  he  was  compelled  to  vindicate  his  claims  to  a  hearing,  we  need  not,  therefore, 
be  vindictive  against  those  who  refuse  to  recognize  him  as  a  great  benefactor.  Our 
circumstances  and  those  which  surrounded  him  are  reversed.  He  stood  alone  against 
the  sentiment,  tradition,  and  interest  of  the  whole  profession,  and  the  ignorance  and 
credulity  of  the  people.  We  have  thousands  of  the  best  practitioners,  and  a  large  share 
of  an  intelligent  patronage  upon  our  side.  He  must  feel  and  fight  his  way  into  notice, 
while  we  are  privileged  to  spend  our  energies  in  elaborating  his  discovery,  and  adapting 
It  to  the  physical  necessities  of  mankind. 

Harsh  words  have  no  healing  properties.  There  is  no  need  to  revive  the  old 
bitterness.  The  incontrovertible  logic  of  facts  is  the  best  lever  at  our  command.  As 
physical  injury  and  dissipation  trace  their  characters  in  the  lineaments  of  the  dissolute 
and  the  abandoned,  so  the  mental  fisticuffs  in  which  doctors  are  prone  to  indulge,  leave 
their  impress  on  the  mind  of  the  physician.'  They  subtract  from  his  self-respect,  and  from 
the  respectful  consideration  and  confidence  that  community  reposes  in  him  and  his  calling. 

Dr.  Ludlam  was  born  in  Camden,  New  Jersey,  the  seventh  of 
October,  1831.  His  father,  Jacob  W.  Ludlam,  was  a  distinguished  old- 
school  physician  of  that  place,  who  finally  removed  to  Illinois,  and  died 
in  Evanston  in  1858.  While  a  mere  youth,  the  son  began  to  develop  a 
talent  for  medical  practice,  and  commenced  a  systematic  study  of  medicine 
under  the  instruction  of  his  father,  accompanying  him  in  the  meantime  on 
his  visits  to  patients,  thus  acquiring  an  early  practical  as  well  as  theoretical 
knowledge  of  the  complicated  science  to  which  he  was  to  consecrate 
his  life.  Six  years  were  devoted  by  him  to  the  special  preparation  for  his 
work,  and  in  March,  1852,  he  graduated  from  the  honored  University  of 
Pennsylvania  with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine,  soon  after  which  he 
removed  to  this  city,  where  he  decided  that  as  much  as  he  respected  and 
even  loved  the  precepts  of  his  father  and  of  his  Alma  Mater,  he  would 
in  the  light  of  reason  and  in  obedience  to  the  dictates  of  conscience,  adopt 
the  theory  and  practice  of  Hahnemann,  and  do  what  he  could  to  perfect 
them. 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  v      22^ 

His  practice  became  large,  which  implies  that  it  was  success- 
ful. As  a  physician  he  is  naturally  endowed,  and  probably  owes  as 
much  of  his  early  or  later  success  to  his  sympathetic  nature  and  Christian 
virtues  as  to  his  thorough  knowledge  of  medicine.  Successful,  however, 
as  he  was  in  practice,  he  yielded  to  the  demand  to  become  the  Professor 
of  Physiology,  Pathology  and  Clinical  Medicine  in  Hahnemann  Medical 
College  when  its  first  Faculty  was  organized  in  1859.  After  four  years  he 
was  transferred  to  the  chair  of  Obstetrics  and  Diseases  of  Women  and  Chil- 
dren, one  of  the  most  responsible  and  delicate  professorships  in  a  medical 
college,  and  one  that  he  was  particularly  qualified  to  fill,  having  given 
special  attention  to  the  class  of  diseases  which  belong  to  that  department. 
He  is  still  a  member  of  the  Hahnemann  Medical  College  Faculty,  and 
enjoys  the  distinction  of  being  as  successful  an  instructor  as  he  is  a 
practitioner.  .Having  devoted  a  great  deal  of  attention  to  the  study  of 
uterine  surgery,  not  only  in  this  country,  but  also  in  the  hospitals  of  Europe, 
and  having  had  years  of  extensive  practice,  Dr.  Ludlam  is  the  acknowl- 
edged leading  gynecologist  of  his  school  of  practice  in  the  United  States; 
and  as  such  he  is  a  most  substantial  feature  of  the  high  reputation  of 
Hahnemann  Medical  College.  Nor  is  his  fame  dependent  upon  isolated 
illustrations  of  professional  skill;  his  practice  is  constant  and  his  success  is 
what  might  be  ardently  hoped  for,  but  scarcely  expected.  In  the  removal 
and  cure  of  ovarian  tumors,  his  record,  measured  by  the  standard  of 
general  success  and*  failure  in  such  cases,  borders  upon  the  marvelous. 
Upon  investigation  it  is  learned  that  in  his  latest  twenty  cases,  every  one 
has  recovered.  The  only  object  in  mentioning  these  facts,  is  to  impress 
upon  young  men  who  aspire  to  the  responsible  office  of  physician,  that 
success  in  the  most  intricate  and  delicate  branches  of  the  profession  is 
attainable,  but  that  it  depends  upon  a  long  and  arduous  course  of  study  and 
a  most  conscientious  practice.  It  is  also  conspicuously  observable  in  Dr. 
Ludlam's  career  that  his  mind  grasps  conditions  of  disease  of  which  the 
books  do  not  treat,  and  which  a  common  sense  observation  must  reveal. 
As  a  physician  to  woman,  his  best  introduction  to  her  confidence  is  his 
perfect  knowledge  of  her,  physically,  mentally  and  spiritually.  In  a 
lecture  to  the  students  of  his  college,  on  "Traumatism  as  a  Factor  in  the 
Diseases  of  Woman,"  he  eloquently  says: 

Women  are  more  sensitive  than  men  to  traumatic  influences.  If  they  are  not, 
like  the  donkey,  more  thoroughly  beaten,  their  bruises  are  more  numerous  and  more 
harmful  than  are  those  which  the  men  have  to  bear.  Some  of  these  bruises  affect  the 
mental  organization  of  women  more  especially.  The  cuts  and  wounds  that  come  from 
the  jagged  weapons  of  neglect  and  improvidence  are  just  as  real  as  those  which  rained 
upon  the  poor  man  in  Scripture,  when  he  fell  by  the  wayside.  The  girl  whose  brother 
or  whose  lover  is  a  vagabond ;  the  spirited  wife  whose  husband  is  lazy  and  shiftless ; 
or  the  mother  whose  son  is  a  curse  instead  of  a  blessing  to  his  family,  is  certain  to 
suffer  the  effects  of  mental  injury.  And  these  effects  will  implicate  her  health  as  well 
as  her  happiness. 

There  are  tracings  of  disease  that  are  due  to  a  spiritual  traumatism;  cor.ditions 
that  come  to  this  class  especially  from  a  tearing  and  contusion  of  the  web  of  thought 
and  feeling.  For  the  mind  can  bleed  like  the  body,  and  many  a  poor  woman  is  the 


226  CHICAGO  AND  ITS   DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

victim  of  a  concealed  internal  haemorrhage  from  wounds  of  this  kind.  All  the  petty 
vexations,  the  wrinkling  cares,  the  disappointments  and  sorrows,  the  checks  to  pride 
and  ambition,  to  love  of  place  and  of  power,  of  dress  and  of  distinction,  the  tempta- 
tions, the  reproaches,  and  the  fret  and  worry  of  a  woman's  life,  are  so  many  causes  of 
a  wounded  spirit.  Their  consequences  complicate  most  of  the  disorders  to  which  these 
patients  are  subject,  and  constitute  a  kind  of  diathesis,  or  class-bias,  which  you  will 
need  to  study  very  carefully. 

To  shield  them,  in  all  the  vicissitudes  of  their  checkered  life,  from  shock  and  con- 
tusion, and  from  wounds  that  are  visible  and  invisible;  to  bless  and  to  brighten  their 
experience,  and,  like  the  pictures  and  statuary  with  which  the  old  Greeks  surrounded 
their  pregnant  women,  to  exert  a  silent  but  certain  and  beautiful  influence  upon  their 
unborn  offspring;  to  stop  the  awful  waste  of  actual  and  contingent  life ;  to  turn  the  tide 
of  popular  confidence  away  from  abuses  that  have  no  more  to  do  with  the  skillful 
application  of  the  healing  art  than  the  self-imposed  wounds  of  the  Hindoo  have  with 
the  creed  of  the  Christian,  is  something  apart  from,  and  infinitely  above  the  mere  pre- 
scription of  remedies. 

As  a  medical  writer  Dr.  Ludlam  is  clear  and  logical,  his  productions, 
whether  as  lectures,  editorial  contributions,  or  in  the  more  substantial  form 
of  books,  always  showing  that  clear  cut  thought  and  thorough  research 
which  have  been  the  distinguishing  features  of  his  whole  life  and  the  source 
of  his  success.  His  writings  have  been  numerous  and  are  regarded  as 
authority.  For  six  years  he  was  editorially  connected  with  the  NORTH 
AMERICAN  JOURNAL  OF  HOMCEOPATHY,  published  in  New  York,  and  for 
nine  years  with  the  UNITED  STATES  MEDICAL  AND  SURGICAL  JOURNAL, 
published  in  Chicago.  In  March,  1863,  a  Chicago  house  published  "A 
Course  of  Clinical  Lectures  on  Diphtheria,"  of  which  Dr.  Ludlam  was  the 
author,  and  which  was  the  first  medical  work  ever  issued  in  the  North- 
west. In  1871,  however,  another  volume,  entitled  "Clinical  and  Didactic 
Lectures  on  the  Diseases  of  Women" — an  octavo  work  of  six  hundred 
and  twelve  pages,  from  his  pen — made  its  appearance,  becoming  at 
once  very  popular  with  the  profession  and  a  recognized  text-book 
in  all  homoeopathic  medical  colleges.  This  work  has  run  through  four 
large  editions,  and  the  fifth  came  from  the  press  during  the  year  1880. 
It  has  also  been  translated  into  French,  and  published  in  Paris  by  Delahaye, 
a  still  further  evidence  of  the  esteem  in  which  it  is  held.  In  1879  Dr. 
Ludlam,  in  addition  to  his  other  multifarious  duties,  translated  a  work  on 
Clinical  Medicine  from  the  French  of  Jousset,  adding  many  original  and 
valuable  notes. 

In  1868  Dr.  Ludlam,  to  whom  the  appreciative  attention  of  the  East  had 
been  attracted,  was  tendered  the  position  of  Physician  for  the  Home  Infirm- 
ary for  the  Diseases  of  Women,  in  New  York,  and  two  years  later  he  was 
elected  Professor  of  Obstetrics  and  Diseases  of  Women  and  Children  in  the 
Homoeopathic  College  of  the  same  city.  Satisfied,  however,  with  his  field 
of  labor  in  the  West,  he  declined  these  honors.  Among  the  positions  of 
honor  and  trust  which  he  has  held,  may  be  prominently  mentioned  the 
Presidency  of  the  American  Institute  of  Homoeopathy,  of  the  Chicago 
Academy  of  Medicine,  of  the  Western  Institute  of  Homoeopathy,  and  of  the 
Illinois  Homoeopathic  Medical  Society.  In  addition  to  these  honors,  Dr. 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  327 

Ludlam  was  a  member  of  the  Medical  Department  of  the  Relief  and  Aid 
Society,  which  after  the  great  fire  had  the  distribution  of  the  charities  and 
the  care  of  the  needy.  The  Doctor  was  the  only  Homoeopathic  physician 
appointed  to  the  discharge  of  the  very  delicate  duties  of  that  responsible 
position.  When  the  present  State  Board  of  Health  was  created  by  an 
Act  of  the  legislature,  Governor  Cullom  appointed  Dr.  Ludlam  a  mem- 
ber of  it,  which  position  he  still  holds,  being  the  representative  of  his  school 
of  practice  on  the  Board. 

Dr.  Ludlam  has  been  twice  married.  His  first  wife,  Anna  M.  Porter, 
of  Greenwich,  New  Jersey,  died  three  years  after  marriage.  He  after- 
ward married  Harriet  G.  Parvin,  of  New  York,  by  whom  he  has  a  son 
who  bears  his  father's  name. 


228 


HENRY  OLIN,  M.  D. 

Henry  Olin,  M.  D.,  one  of  the  most  distinguished  oculists  and 
aurists  in  the  country,  was  born  at  Concord,  Erie  county,  New  York, 
August  1 8th,  1835,  and  is  the  son  of  William  and  Marie  Olin.  His 
father,  who  was  of  the  Vermont  Olin  family,  which  contributed  so  much 
brilliancy  and  renown  to  the  Albany,  New  York,  legal  bar,  was  an  enter- 
prising farmer,  with  an  active  intellect  and  possessed  of  an  abundant  store 
of  general  information.  The  childhood  of  young  Olin  was  spent  in 
Springy i lie  and  Boston  in  his  native  State,  and  in  these  places,  more 
especially  at  Springville,  he  enjoyed  most  excellent  educational  advan- 
tages, laying  a  foundation  for  his  later  medical  acquirements  and  his 
subsequent  brilliant  professional  success.  His  taste  and  peculiar  fitness 
for  the  medical  profession  developed  quite  early  in  life,  and  we  find  him, 
when  a  young  man,  apprenticed  to  a  druggist,  and  devoting  himself  to 
the  study  of  the  business  with  an  application  that  promised  a  full  under- 
standing of  its  intricacies  and  a  wider  field  of  usefulness.  It  was  not  sufficient 
.  that  he  knew  what  the  effect  of  a  drug  upon  the  human  organism  was, 
but  he  sought  to  know  the  reason  of  its  peculiar  action  under  certain 
circumstances,  and  instead  of  being  a  mechanical  prescription  clerk,  he 
was  from  the  beginning  of  his  connection  with  the  drug  business,  an 
intelligent  and  laborious  medical  student  and  investigator,  showing  that 
deep  interest  in  the  details  of  medical  science  and  that  conscientious  dis- 
charge of  duty  which  have  always  distinguished  him  as  a  practitioner  of 
his  profession. 

In  course  of  time  he  entered  regularly  upon  the  study  of  medicine, 
which  he  pursued  at  Buffalo,  New 'York,  and  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania, 
thoroughly  fitting  himself  for  his  profession,  and  distinguishing  himself 
throughout  as  a  hard  working  and  exceptionally  forward  student.  Having 
completed  his  collegiate  medical  education,  he  at  once  entered  into  prac- 
tice, with  considerable  greater  success  than  usually  attends  the  beginning 
of  a  professional  career.  His  competency  was  at  once  acknowledged, 
and  this  supplemented  by  his  integrity,  at  once  won  him  an  enviable 
place  in  the  esteem  and  confidence  of  the  public.  For  three  or  four 
years  from  1860,  Dr.  Olin  conducted  a  drug  store  in  connection  with  his 
practice,  but  finding  that  the  claims  of  his  profession  were  quite  sufficient 
to  tax  his  mental  and  physical  powers  as  heavily  as  they  could  judiciously 
be  called  upon  to  stand,  he  abandoned  the  drug  business,  and  has  since 


/ 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  229 

confined  himself  exclusively  to  his  practice,  with  the  exception  of  attend- 
ing to  his  duties  as  lecturer  on  the  diseases  of  the  eye  and  ear  in  Bennett 
Medical  College.  For  fifteen  years  Professor  Olin  has  made  the  treat- 
ment of  this  class  of  diseases  a  specialty,  and  has  not  only  become  the 
leading  oculist  and  aurist  in  the  West,  but  also  an  authority  in  this  branch 
of  medical  science  throughout  the  world.  In  1870  he  made  a  most 
important  discovery  in  the  physiology  of  the  ear,  which  revolutionized 
a  long  accepted  theory.  While  making  an  examination  of  a  person  who 
had  an  ear  difficulty,  he  found  there  was  congenital  absence  of  the  tympanic 
membrane;  and  yet  normal  hearing  existed.  Upon  further  inquiry  and 
investigation,  he  found  many  other  cases  where  the  tympanic  membrane 
was  wanting,  from  idiopathic  and  traumatic  causes,  but  still  the  persons 
had  normal  hearing.  This  led  to  further  investigation,  which  resulted  in 
demonstrating  that  this  membrane  is  inelastic  fibrous  tissue,  not  vibrating 
on  the  undulating  motion  of  the  atmosphere  as  had  previously  been  sup- 
posed. Professor  Olin's  discovery  has  been  recently  corroborated  by  the 
testimony  of  Professor  Helmholtz,  of  Germany,  an  eminent  physiologist, 
who  has  experimented  with  like  results. 

In  the  Fall  of  1870,  Professor  Olin  removed  to  Chicago,  where  he 
has  since  resided,  and  where  his  ability,  researches,  accomplishments  and 
character  have  become  a  conspicuous  part  of  medical  history  and  medical 
education.  As  a  lecturer  in  Bennett  Medical  College,  he  has  added  to 
the  high  character  of  the  institution,  and  has  won  the  esteem  of  hundreds 
of  students  who  have  been  fortunate  enough  to  sit  under  his  instruction. 
He  is  also  a  trustee  of  the  college. 

The  importance  of  a  better  education  of  physicians  in  the  delicate 
branch  of  the  profession  to  which  Professor  Olin  has  been  for  so  many 
years  devoting  his  life,  naturally  and  powerfully  presented  itself  to  his 
mind,  and  so  deeply  impressed  him,  that  he  exerted  himself  to  found  in 
Chicago  a  college  of  Ophthalmology  and  Otology,  of  which  he  secured 
the  incorporation  in  1878.  The  institution  supplies  a  much  needed  want, 
and  will  be  an  appropriate  monument  to  the  energy,  judgment  and  even 
humanity  of  its  founder. 

Professor  Olin  is  prominently  connected  with  several  medical  societies, 
among  which  are  the  National  Eclectic  Medical  Association,  the  Illinois 
Eclectic  Medical  Society,  the  Wisconsin  Medical  Society,  and  the  Chicago 
Eclectic  Medical  and  Surgical  Society. 

In  1874  he  was  married  to  Delia  Miles,  who  is  a  lady  of  superior 
excellence  of  heart  and  mind,  and  a  light  in  the  home  of  her  busy  and 
distinguished  husband;  and  if  ever  a  man  needed  the  quiet  retreat  of 
home,  in  all  of  its  most  perfect  peace  and  loveliness,  where  he  can  escape 
the  exhausting  demands  of  professional  life,  it  is  he  who,  like  Professor 
Olin,  is  driven  tj  the  limit  of  endurance  by  his  immense  private  practice, 
to  say  nothing  of  his  duties  as  a  professor.  It  is  a  matter  of  astonish- 
ment to  all  who  are  familiar  with  his  habits  of  industry,  that  he  can 
withstand  the  drain  of  such  an  active  life.  His  endurance,  however,  may 


230  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

be  largely  attributed  to  a  faultless  nervous  system,  the  lack  of  which  is 
the  cause  of  so  many  physical  wrecks  among  our  busy  men.  In  such 
delicate  operations  as  the  practice  of  the  oculist  and  aurist  necessitates, 
perfectly  steady  nerves  are  the  only  guaranty  of  safety  to  the  patient, 
and  necessarily  of  success  to  the  practitioner.  To  the  extraordinary 
development  of  nerve,  therefore — prominently  noticeable  in  all  of  his 
operations — Professor  Olin  is  as  much  indebted  for  his  ability  to  perform 
a  prodigious  amount  of  labor  as  he  is  for  a  large  measure  of  his  profes- 
sional success.  Yet  a  young  man,  many  additional,  and  even  still  more 
brilliant  achievements  may  reasonably  be  expected  to  mark  his  professional 
career,  and  benefit  the  anxious  class  of  sufferers  to  whose  usually  distress- 
ing maladies  the  oculist  and  aurist  ministers. 

An  awkward,  yet  real  compliment  to  Professor  Olin — but  one  that 
naturally  has  given  him  much  annoyance — has  been  the  assumption  of 
his  name  by  an  ignorant  medical  pretender  of  this  city.  Among  all  the 
medical  profession  he  was  the  victim  of  this  unparalleled  outrage,  a  fact, 
which  however  troublesome  to  him,  goes  to  show  the  standing  of  the 
man  and  the  influence  of  his  name. 


231 


DR.  JAMES  E.  LOW. 

The  lack  of  original  thought  and  that  restless  activity  of  inquiring 
and  executive  genius  which  in  other  callings  is  termed  enterprise,  has 
long  been  noticed  and  lamented  in  the  learned  professions.  There  is 
a  seductive  charm  about  old  theories  and  methods  which  too  often  enslave 
the  professional  man  through  his  prejudices,  and  binding  him  to  the  im- 
perfect past,  forbids  both  his  own  development  and  that  of  the  sciences 
and  civilization  with  which  he  has  to  do.  In  the  midst  of  this  general 
fixedness  and  long  established  unquestioning  conformity  to  rules  and 
usages,  an  original  and  independent  mind  occasionally  flashes  its  thought, 
and  converts  the  seemingly  impossible  into  the  most  beneficial  utility. 
It  leads  progress  against  the  opposition  of  matured  prejudice,  the  world's 
unbounded  egotism  and  the  proverbial  apathy  of  mankind.  Undismayed 
by  such  discouragements,  it  maintains  the  remembrance  of  the  world's 
progress  in  the  past,  and  centers  its  energies  upon  making  a  like  advance 
in  the  future. 

Such  minds  scarcely  recognize  that  there  are  impossibilities.  Un- 
trammeled  by  the  conclusions  of  others,  they  penetrate  mysteries;  study 
the  laws  of  nature;  formulate  theories  and  demonstrate  their  falsity  or 
practicability;  originate  new  applications  of  old  principles,  and  accurate 
application  of  new  ones,  and  proceed  patiently  and  laboriously  in  the 
development  of  the  latent  forces  of  nature,  science  and  mechanism,  until 
there  are  none  to  dispute  the  actual  accomplishment  of  great  results  to 
the  world.  Whatever  progress  our  race  has  made  it  owes  to  the  inde- 
pendence, great  natural  endowments,  stucliousness  and  energy  of  such 
minds.  From  the  science  of  government  down  to  the  minute  details  of 
human  life  this  is  true.  Independent  thinkers  and  brave  actors  have 
evolved  the  best  systems  of  government  from  original  chaos,  and  later 
crude  notions;  they  have  exploded  false  theories,  made  innovation  upon 
primitive  practices  and  instituted  perfection  in  the  place  of  erroneous 
conception  and  faulty  execution  in  science,  mechanics,  social,  religious  and 
political  economy,  and  in  the  discharge  of  all  the  duties  devolving  upon 
men. 

It  is  to  such  minds  as  have  devised  free  government,  divested  religion 
of  useless,  irksome  detail  and  embarrassing  sacrifice,  perfected  educational 
systems,  given  us  the  locomotive  and  the  throbbing  telegraph;  and  made 
civilization  pulsate,  as  if  with  unnatural  excitement,  by  the  grand  harvest 


232  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

of  discovery  and  invention,  that  we  are  indebted  for  the  glow  of  our 
present  American  civilization.  Minds  like  these  never  conclude  their 
studious  research  for  knowledge;  they  are  as  ceaselessly  active  as  the 
heart  in  its  life-giving  pulsations,  and  grasp  the  improbable  with  an  energy 
that  surmounts  difficulties  and  conquers  opposition. 

Dr.  James  E.  Low,  one  of  the  most  distinguished  dentists  in  the 
West,  and  the  'subject  of  this  sketch,  belongs  to  the  class  of  men  who  have 
aided  the  world  to  advance.  His  mind  is  original  in  conception,  inde- 
pendent in  demonstration,  and  remarkably  logical  in  reaching  results. 
The  most  studious  of  men,  but  possessed  of  professional  acquirements 
which  would  be  thought  to  satisfy  the  most  ardent  ambition,  he  is  accus- 
tomed to  remark,  with  unmistakable  evidence  of  sadness:  "There  is  so 
much  to  learn,  and  so  little  time  to  learn  it,  that  I  feel  like  an  atom  floating 
in  the  eternity  of  space;  the  further  I  float,  the  more  boundless  becomes 
the  space,  with  its  universe  of  unacquired  knowledge."  It  is  a  remarka- 
ble exception  to  find  one  who  has  already  distinguished  himself  in  his 
profession,  and  whose  physical  strength  is  taxed  to  its  limit  of  endurance, 
by  his  immense  practice,  thus  devotedly  applying  himself  to  the  acquire- 
ment of  knowledge  that:  will  benefit  mankind.  In  following  this  bent 
of  his  richly  endowed  mind,  he  has  made  many  improvements  in  dentistry, 
one  of  the  most  important  of  which  is  the  restoring  of  partial  loss  of 
tee'th  without  a  plate — known  as  Low's  New  Method — which  was  one 
of  the  impossibilities  of  the  profession,  until  he  demonstrated  its  absolute 
certainty  of  accomplishment.  By  this  method  teeth  are  permanently 
attached  in  the  mouth  by  water-tight,  immovable  pure  gold  bands,  leav- 
ing space  for  cleansing  and  rinsing,  and  thus  enabling  the  wearer  to  keep 
the  artificial  teeth  as  clean  as  those  that  are  natural.  Under  this  method 
the  roof  of  the  mouth  is  free  from  the  incumbrance  of  a  plate,  and  the 
natural  teeth  adjacent  to  the  false  are  in  nowise  injured. 

Had  Dr.  Low  stopped  here,  he  would  have  earned  the  gratitude 
of  those  who  need  such,  ministrations  as  his  profession  bestows.  But  his 
restless  genius  went  still  further.  It  led  him  to  invent  a  new  and  suc- 
cessful method  for  restoring  teeth  that  were  frail,  and  which  under  ordinary 
circumstances  would  be  doomed  to  extraction.  Under  this  method  the 
portion  of  the  tooth  that  is  gone  is  restored  by  looping  it  with,  gold, 
using  cement  attachment,  thus  giving  strength  to  the  frail  walls  that  could 
not  be  filled.  Many  patients  have  been  attracted  to  him  by  this  humane 
and  useful  invention,  and  even  those  who  have  never  suffered  the  agony 
of  imperfect  teeth  will  be  guided  by  sympathy  for  those  who  are  thus 
unfortunate  to  thank  the  inventor  of  a  method  which  makes  the  forceps 
of  less  universal  use. 

Devoid  of  selfishness — strangely  so — Dr.  Low  is  desirous  that  every 
one  should  have  perfect  teeth.  Judging  from  his  speech  and  his  acts,  it 
would  be  concluded  that  if  no  one  were  under  the  necessity  of  entering 
his  office  he  would  be  the  happiest  of  men.  Indeed  he  has  attempted  to 
tell  the  public  how  to  preserve  their  teeth.  Notwithstanding  the  press 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  233 

< 

of  his  large  practice,  he  has  somehow  found  time  to  write  a  work  which 

is  entitled  "The  Decay  and  Preservation  of  the  Teeth,  as  Connected  with 
the  Laws  of  Health."  In  this  work  he  carefully  explains  how  best  to 
care  for  the  teeth,  how  to  live,  what  to  eat,  when  to  eat  and  generally 
how  to  preserve  such  health  as  will  result  in  a  perfect  physical  organiza- 
tion. This  work  coming  from  such  a  man  is  one  of  the  most  valuable 
that  can  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  people. 

Dr.  James  E.  Low  is  the  son  of  Rinold  Low  and  Susan  Hay  ward, 
and  was  born  in  Otsego  county,  in  the  State  of  New  York,  in  the  year 
1835.  ^e  *s  °f  French  descent,  his  paternal  grandfather  coming  from 
France  to  New  York  city  at  an  early  day,  and  afterward  removed  to 
Otsego  county,  becoming  one  of  the  pioneers  of  the  town  of  Milford. 
The  childhood  of  young  Low  was  spent  in  his  native  county,  and  in  con- 
sequence of  the  death  of  his  father,  which  occurred  when  the  son  was 
only  six  years  of  age,  his  mother  was  left  with  six  children,  and  with  but 
limited  means  for  their  support,  necessitating  an  early  application  of  our 
subject  to  labor.  He  was  thus  compelled  to  support  himself  and  provide 
for  his  own  education.  Nature  had  richly  endowed  him,  however,  with 
a  spirit  of  determination,  and  he  sought  what  educational  facilities  were 
afforded  by  the  common  schools,  working  nights  and  mornings  lor  his 
board.  In  course  of  time  he  accumulated  enough  money  to  enable  him 
to  enter  Cooperstown  Seminary,  in  Otsego  county,  where  he  applied 
himself  most  dilligelitly  to  study.  After  leaving  this  institution  he 
began — in  1857 — the  study  of  dentistry  and  medicine,  and  since  that  time 
has  taken  several  medical  courses. 

In  1865  our  subject  came  to  Chicago,  and  his  career  as  a  dental  prac- 
titioner has  been  steadily  upward,  until,  although  a  comparatively  young 
man,  he  occupies  a  position  among  the  very  foremost  in  his  profession. 
In  1870  he  became  a  member  of  the  Illinois  State  Dental  Society,  and  in 
1873  of  the  American  Dental  Society,  and  is  now  a  member  of  the  Chi- 
cago Dental  Society;  and  in  all  ways  he  has  ever  shown  his  great  interest 
in  and  love  for  the  advancement  of  dental  science. 

In  1856  Dr.  Low  was  married  at  Milford,  Otsego  county,  New  York, 
to  Roena  Knapp, — daughter  of  A.  C.  Knapp,  a  well  knov/n  and  much 
respected  gentleman — a  lady  of  varied  endowments  and  attainments. 
Two  daughters — Maud,  born  July  241!!,  1858,  and  Mabel,  born  Sep- 
tember 20th,  1861 — have  blessed  this  union,  and  complete  a  most  charming 
family  circle. 

In  the  life  thus  outlined  is  found  in  prominent  relief  some  qf  the  most 
valuable  traits  of  human  character.  Solely  by  his  own  exertions  Dr. 
Low  has  reached  his  present  eminence  in  his  profession  and  achieved 
influence  as  a  member  of  society.  His  persistent  determination  has  suc- 
cessfully carried  him  through  many  discouraging  experiences,  and  his 
laborious  application  to  study  and  business  has  won  him  the  confidence 
of  the  public  and  crowned  him  with  a  reasonable  degree  of  affluence. 
Courage,  persistency,  studiousness,  application  and  a  keen  realization  of 


234  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

his  responsibilities  in  all  of  the  relations  of  life  have  enabled  him   to 
achieve  much  and  grandly. 

Such  men  are  not  only  useful  in  the  special  paths  they  have  marked 
out  for  themselves,  and  in  developing  particular  sciences  and  perfecting 
beneficial  methods,  but  the  silent  influences  of  their  lives  are  of  inestimable 
value  to  the  community.  Youth  who  seek  examples  among  the  world's 
prominent  men  are  aided  by  the  sight  of  the  footprints  of  those  who 
have  toiled  up  the  steep  of  eminence,  aided  almost  wholly  by  their  own 
abilities,  to  surmount  difficulties  which  otherwise  might  discourage  and, 
perhaps,  wreck.  Among  the  happiest  thoughts  of  one  who  achieved 
prominence  against  vast  odds,  must  be  the  thought  that,  perhaps,  his 
hardships  and  triumphs  may  be  the  source  of  vital  encouragement  to 
multitudes  of  young  men  who  are  struggling  as  he  once  struggled. 


235 


EMANUEL  HONSINGER,  D.  D.  S. 

Among  those  who  have  achieved  prominence  as  men  of  marked 
genius  and  substantial  worth  in  Chicago,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  Dr. 
Emanuel  Honsinger,  occupies  an  enviable  position.  The  architect  of  his 
own  fortune,  he  has  builded  well,  substantially,  and  even  brilliantly,  and 
in  his  profession  and  as  a  citizen  enjoys  in  an  unusual  degree  the  respect 
and  confidence  of  the  community  with  whose  interests  he  has  been  closely 
identified  for  nearly  a  third  of  a  century.  But  while  thus  widely  known 
and  universally  esteemed  for  striking  attributes  of  character,  the  genius 
of  the  man  compels  a  profound  admiration  by  those  who  are  cognizant 
of  the  details  of  his  life  and  achievements,  which  have  been  peculiarly 
distinguished  for  their  usefulness.  In  the  development  of  dental  science 
and  the  perfection  of  its  practice  not  only  in  Chicago,  but  in  the  new 
West,  certainly  no  one  has  accomplished  more  than  he,  or  stands  higher 
in  the  councils  of  his  profession.  From  his  first  entrance  upon  the  study 
of  dentistry,  through  the  many  years  of  his  extensive  practice,  until  now, 
he  has  sought  to  improve  upon  old  methods,  and  has  devoted  himself  to 
dental  advancement  with  a  devotion  which  has  been  equaled  only  by  his 
ability. 

Dr.  Honsinger  was  born  at  Henrysburg,  Canada  East,  September 
1 2th,  1823,  and  is  the  son  of  James  and  Margaret  Honsinger.  It  was  not 
long  after  his  birth,  however,  that  the  family  removed  to  a  farm  at  Cham- 
plain,  Clinton  county,  New  York,  where  the  boy  toiled  in  the  thoroughly 
uncongenial  occupation  of  farm  life  until  he  was  seventeen  years  of  age. 
There  was  little  in  agriculture  to  satisfy  the  restless  activity  of  such 
a  mind,  and  his  natural  abilities  sought  for  a  more  extended  field  of  opera- 
-tions.  To  have  curbed  the  propensities  of  his  youthful,  ardent  nature 
and  confined  the  expansion  of  his  active  intellect,  by  forbidding  him 
more  ample  room  than  the  routine  of  farm  life  afforded,  would  have  been 
a  crime  against  him  and  a  deliberate  interference  with  the  claims  of 
society  upon  individual  mind.  His  father  doubtless  recognized  this,  and 
when  the  lad,  at  the  age  of  seventeen,  requested  that  he  might  turn  his 
face  in  the  direction  of  his  aspirations  and  his  feet  into  the  path  which 
would  lead  to  more  certain  usefulness  and  prominence,  he  consented. 
Without  capital  or  influence  he  bade  farewell  to  an  agricultural  life,  and 
stepped  forth  into  the  world  for  himself. 

Naturally  he  recognized  that  an  education  was  his  first  necessity 


236  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

and  by  hiring  himself  out  mornings  and  evenings,  he  was  enabled  to 
secure  several  years  of  schooling.  He  had  the  gift  of  perseverance  as 
well  as  a  genius  for  invention,  and  allowed  no  hours  to  go  to  waste.  He 
had  been  taught  by  his  father  to  improve  the  time.  Industry  was  an 
inheritance.  He  made  a  profitable  investment  of  it.  Without  being 
settled  respecting  the  particular  vocation  to  which  he  should  devote  his 
life,  he  made  up  his  mind  that  he  would  make  the  most  of  his  opportuni- 
ties, follow  his  bent,  and  wait  upon  circumstances.  With  unremitting 
application  to  whatever  his  hands  or  his  head  found  to  do,  he  went 
steadily  and  vigorously  forward.  He  was  alternately  pupil  and  teacher. 
He  earned  the  means  for  obtaining  knowledge  by  imparting  it  to  others, 
and  his  schooling  was  all  the  more  thorough  and  comprehensive  from 
this  fact.  Young  Honsinger  learned  more  in  the  teacher's  chair  than  on 
the  pupil's  bench.  He  secured  to  himself  the  fundamentals  of  education, 
and  was  respectably  well  furnished  for  life's  campaign. 

Early  in  life  he  developed  a  marvelous  faculty  for  mechanism,  con- 
structing before  he  had  even  attained  his  majority  a  drum,  flute,  dulcimer 
and  violin,  without  any  instruction,  and  as  if  by  inspiration.  Indeed, 
when  only  fourteen  years  of  age,  he  made  for  himself  a  pair  of  boots, 
the  lasts,  cutting,  fitting  and  sewing  being  the  work  of  his  own  untrained 
ingenuity.  Another  mechanical  achievement  of  his  boyhood's  days  was 
the  construction  of  a  sleigh,  which  was  pronounced  to  be  as  perfect  as 
any  ever  made  in  the  shop  in  which  he  did  the  work.  Such  genius  was 
of  a  very  unusual  order,  and  naturally  attracted  general  attention.  Its 
possibilities  were  properly  regarded  as  practically  limitless,  and  it  has  not 
disappointed  either  its  early  or  its  later  admirers. 

After  years  of  study  and  teaching,  experiments  in  mechanism,  and 
planning  for  the  future,  he  resolved  to  adopt  the  profession  of  dentistry, 
and  at  once  became  a  student  under  Dr.  H.  J.  Paine,  of  Troy,  New  York. 
He  made  rapid  progress  in  his  studies,  and  soon  excelled  his  employer  in 
all  those  branches  which  require  mechanical  ingenuity  and  a  dexterous 
hand.  While  yet  an  apprentice  the  necessity  of  more  perfect  tools  was 
impressed  upon  his  mind,  and  the  first  result  was  the  construction  of 
a  reacting  drill,  which  does  its  work  with  great  rapidity,  and  ease  to  the 
patient. 

In  the  Autumn  of  1847,  he  opened  an  office  in  Troy,  and  in  a  few 
years  was  engaged  in  a  lucrative  practice.  It  was  not  long  before  his 
inventive  faculty  bestowed  another  blessing  alike  upon  the  profession  and 
the  public,  in  the  construction  of  a  rotating  gum  lance,  so  contrived  as  to 
make  the  entire  circuit  of  the  isolated  tooth,  and  effect  its  object  without 
cutting  the  gum.  He  very  unselfishly  donated  this  merciful  improvement 
upon  all  other  lances,  to  the  profession,  and  its  merits  were  quickly  recog- 
nized by  the  most  eminent  dentists.  While  in  Troy,  he  also  invented 
what  is  well  known  in  dental  circle.,  as  Honsinger's  Combined  Blowpipe 
and  Lathe,  a  health  as  well  as  labor  saving  contrivance  of  acknowledged 
merit. 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  237 

Notwithstanding  his  success  in  the  East,  Dr.  Honsinger  resolved  to 
come  West,  and  arrived  in  Chicago  in  April,  1853.  Securing  quarters 
at  number  77  Lake  street,  he  began  business,  remaining  in  this  location  for 
nearly  thirteen  years,  a  conspicuous  illustration  of  his  steadfastness  of 
purpose  and  his  strength  of  character.  Many  were  the  changes  wrought 
about  him  in  those  years,  and  many  were  the  discouragements,  but  while 
others  lost  heart  he  remained  firm,  and  through  unflinching  courage, 
uprightness  of  character  and  a  full  knowledge  of  his  business,  won  the 
victory.  During  all  these  years  of  the  city's  growth,  he  has  grown  with 
it,  winning  the  esteem  and  confidence  of  both  the  public  and  his  profes- 
sional brethren,  until  he  has  reached  a  professional  eminence  which  should 
be  quite  sufficient  to  satisfy  the  most  ardent  ambition.  Devoted  to  science, 
frank  in  his  intercourse  with  the  world,  and  modest  in  his  manner  and 
claims,  his  opinions  are  often  sought  by  his  professional  associates,  and  ac- 
corded the  weight  which  the  opinions  of  a  man  with  such  characteristics 
alone  can  carry  with  them.  His  long  career  in  Chicago  has  been  an 
exceedingly  busy  one,  but  although  his  time  has  been  so  largely  assessed 
to  meet  the  demands  of  his  large  practice,  the  inventive  turn  of  his  mind 
has  demanded  opportunity  for  more  or  less  exercise.  The  result  has  been 
that  in  1853  Dr.  Honsinger  invented  and  constructed  an  automatic  sign, 
by  which  a  set  of  teeth  are  made  to  perform  a  masticatory  motion  for 
twenty-four  days  without  the  touch  of  a  hand.  In  1861  he  made  an 
improvement  in  the  dentist's  spittoon,  by  which  it  has  been  entirely  rid 
of  everything  offensive  in  the  way  of  odor  and  appearance.  The  con- 
trivance by  which  this  is  accomplished  is  at  once  both  simple  and  ingenious. 
A  beautiful  rotating  arm  is  so  adjusted  that  its  revolutions  can  be  increased 
or  diminished  at  pleasure,  constantly  throwing  out  water  to  every  part 
of  the  basin.  In  this  way  perfect  cleanliness  is  obtained,  and  no  offensive 
matter  meets  the  eye  of  the  patient.  Another  of  his  important  inven- 
tions is  an  Adjustable  File  Carrier. 

In  1863  the  Cincinnati  Dental  College  conferred  upon  him  the  decree 
of  Doctor  of  Dental  Surgery,  and  during  the  years  of  his  progressive 
professional  life,  he  has  reflected  honor  upon  his  Alma  Mater. 

Dr.  Honsinger  was  one  of  the  originators  of  the  Illinois  Dental 
Society — in  1866 — and  served  two  years  as  vice  president.  He  also 
represented  this  society  the  same  year  as  one  of  the  first  delegates  to  the 
American  Dental  Association  which  was  held  in  Boston.  He  is  still 
a  member  of  the  society  and  of  the  American  Dental  Association. 

At  the  time  of  the  great  fire  in  1871,  he  lost  all  that  his  office  con- 
tained— except  about  three  hundred  dollars  in  gold,  which  was  in  the 
safe — including  his  instruments,  library  and  fixtures.  Since  the  fire  his 
office  has  been  at  his  residence,  318  Park  avenue. 

In  1879  he  united  with  the  Park  Avenue  Methodist  Church,  and  is 
very  happy  in  his  church  connections.  Soon  after  joining  this  church 
he  was  appointed  one  of  the  trustees,  and  is  most  highly  esteemed  by 
the  people  of  that  society. 


238  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

The  Doctor's  private  life  is  well  worthy  the  imitation  of  those  of 
the  rising  generation  who  would  reach  a  position  of  consequence  and 
usefulness.  He  has  always  obeyed  the  Apostle's  injunction:  "Owe  no 
man  anything,"  and  preserved  himself  from  many  extravagances  and 
embarrassments  in  consequence.  He  always  had  a  great  aversion  to 
running  accounts,  and  found  great  gain  in  doing  without  everything  for 
which  he  had  not  the  means  to  pay.  He  never  attempted  to  keep  up 
appearances,  nor  made  any  pretension  to  a  style  which  his  income  would 
not  warrant.  He  is  too  proud  of  his  honesty  to  be  vain  of  a  parade  that 
comes  of  dishonesty.  Economy  is  a  duty  with  him,  frugality  an  obliga- 
tion, temperance  a  habit,  integrity  a  religion. 

He  has  never  resorted  to  sensational  devices  for  the  entrapping  and 
fleecing  of  the  incredulous.  He  did  not  rise  at  the  expense  of  a  fellow- 
craftsman,  or  secure  affluence  by  violating  his  conscience  and  sense  of 
honor.  His  large  business  has  grown  of  the  soil  of  public  confidence. 
His  work  has  always  been  the  best  that  his  skill  was  capable  of,  whether 
it  was  done  for  a  wealthy  merchant  or  the  humble  mechanic,  the  gor- 
geous madame  or  the  homely-dressed  sewing-girl. 

Repudiating  the  mercenary  notion  that  the  chief  end,  and  the  only 
mission  of  man  is  to  make  money,  the  Doctor  finds  enjoyment  in  the 
wealth  he  has  gained.  He  makes  his  pecuniary  means  a  source  of  happi- 
ness. He  is  fond  of  his  home,  his  dogs  and  his  gun,  and  revels  in  the 
joy  which  he  finds  in  the  companionship  of  the  animate  and  inanimate 
creation. 

Nor  does  he  admit  for  a  moment  the  slavish  idea  that  business  is  to 
ride  a  man  to  affluence  though  the  next  step  beyond  be  to  the  broken 
health  which  prevents  its  enjoyment,  or  into  the  grave,  which  gives  the 
enjoyment  to  another.  He  believes  that  man  does  not  live  by  business 
alone,  but  by  that  health  of  the  body  which  is  indispensable  to  the  health 
and  development  of  the  mind.  In  this  respect,  the  Doctor  is  a  pattern 
for  thousands  who  are  wearing  away  their  lives  at  a  sacrifice  of  present 
enjoyment,  if  not  of  conscience. 

Few  lives  have  been  in  all  respects  so  satisfactory  as  the  life  we  have 
thus  briefly  sketched.  Grounded  in  principle,  multiplied  through  indus- 
try and  strengthened  by  natural  abilities,  the  acts  whose  aggregate 
compose  it,  have  been  exceptional  in  character  and  in  results.  Society, 
the  profession  in  which  it  has  been  spent,  and  indeed  every  human  inter- 
est, are  incalculably  indebted  to  the  influences  of  such  a  life  as  that  of 
Dr.  Emanuel  Honsinsjer. 


NICOLAI   HARDING  PAAREN,  M.  D. 

Dr.  N.  H.  Paaren  was  born  on  the  fourth  of  November,  1832,  in  the 
city  of  yEroeeskjrebing,  on  the  Island  of  y£rce,  in  the  kingdom  of  Den- 
mark. He  is  the  oldest  of  four  brothers,  sons  of  Hans  Henrich  Paaren 
and  Anna  Maria  Paaren,  whose  maiden  name  was  Harding.  During 
thirty  years  previous  to  his  death,  his  father  occupied  a  prominent  position 
in  the  government  of  the  Island,  and  during  his  long  career  of  usefulness 
acquired  considerable  renown  over  a  large  extent  of  country.  The  child- 
hood of  Dr.  Paaren  was  spent  at  his  home,  where  he  received  a  good 
common  school  education.  Having  evinced  a  decided  preference  for  agri- 
cultural pursuits,  his  father  sent  him,  at  the  age  of  seventeen  years,  to  the 
agricultural  institute  of  Hofmansgave,  on  the  Danish  Island  of  Funen, 
where,  after  three  years,  he  finished  a  thorough  practical  and  theoretical 
study  of  agriculture,  including  the  dairy  and.  sheep  husbandry.  In  the 
course  of  his  studies  he  developed  a  preference  for  the  further  study  of 
breeding  and  management  of  the  domestic  animals  of  the  farm,  including 
the  diseases  to  which  these  are  subject.  The  father,  ever  ready  to  encour- 
age the  inclination  of  his  son,  sent  him  to  Copenhagen  in  1853.  Having 
two  years  thereafter  undergone  a  preliminary  examination  at  the  Univer- 
sity, he  studied  five  years  at  the  Royal  Veterinary  and  Agricultural  Col- 
lege, devoting  most  of  his  time  to  veterinary  science.  In  the  year  1860, 
after  the  death  of  his  father,  he  embarked  for  St.  Croix,  of  the  Danish 
West  India  Islands,  where  he  practiced  as  a  veterinary  surgeon  during  two 
years,  and  held  the  position  of  government  veterinarian  for  the  district  of 
Fredericksted,  including  half  of  the  Island  of  St.  Croix.  The  climate  not 
being  agreeable  to  his  health,  he  embarked  in  1862  for  the  United  States. 

During  the  war  of  the  rebellion,  the  United  States  government  was 
sadly  in  need  of  veterinary  surgeons  for  the  army.  Presuming  that  he 
might  be  of  service  as  a  veterinarian,  Dr.  Paaren  sought  and  obtained  an 
audience  with  the  President,  Abraham  Lincoln.  After  a  few  humorous 
expressions,  characteristic  of  the  man,  Mr.  Lincoln  penned  a  few  words 
to  Secretary  Stanton  of  the  War  Department,  who  again  wrote  to  the 
Quarter-Master  General  of  the  Army,  recommending  the  appointment  of 
Dr.  Paaren  as  Chief  Veterinary  Surgeon  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac, 
in  which  position  he  was  attached  to  the  headquarters  of  the  commanding 
general  of  the  army  from  the  time  of  the  battle  of  Antietam  until  after 
the  memorable  battle  of  Gettysburg.  About  this  time  an  extensive  depot 


240  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

was  established  at  Giesboro'  Point,  on  the  Potomac  river,  three  miles 
from  Washington,  with  capacity  for  seventy-five  thousand  horses.  All 
horses  bought  by  the  government  were  sent  here  for  re-inspection  and 
distribution  to  the  army;  and  all  sick,  wounded  and  disabled  horses  were 
received  here  from  the  front  for  'treatment  and  recuperation.  As  Chief 
Veterinary  Surgeon  and  Special  Inspector  of  the  Cavalry  Bureau,  Dr. 
Paaren,  aided  by  an  ample  corps  of  assistants,  was  responsible  to  the  War 
Department  for  the  proper  and  efficient  treatment  of  a  daily  average  of 
over  three  thousand  sick  and  disabled  horses,  during  the  last  three  years 
of  the  war. 

Since  November,  1866,  Dr.  Paaren  has  been  located  in  Chicago, 
where,  besides  a  successful  practice,  his  old  love  for  agricultural  matters  has 
brought  him  in  intimate  connection  with  the  agricultural  press.  Through 
the  columns  of  THE  WESTERN  RURAL,  of  the  NATIONAL  LIVE  STOCK 
JOURNAL  since  its  commencement,  and  of  THE  PRAIRIE  FARMER,  for 
more  than  fifteen  years,  he  has  disseminated,  with  unusual  ability  and  lib- 
erality, valuable  practical  instruction  in  the  proper  treatment  and  manage- 
ment of  domestic  animals  in  health  and  disease.  Thus  his  name  and 
reputation  have  become  known  to  every  farmer  and  owner  of  live  stock  in 
the  Northwest,  and  his  professional  advice  and  services  are  called  for, 
through  the  agricultural  press,  and  large  daily  mails,  from  every  State  and 
Territory  in  the  Union.  Dr.  Paaren  is  officially  appointed  as  Veterinary 
Advisor  of  the  Illinois  State  Agricultural  Department.  He  is  a  graduate 
of  Bennett  Eclectic  Medical  College  of  Chicago;  is  Secretary,  by  re-elec- 
tion, of  the  Chicago  Eclectic  Medical  and  Surgical  Society,  and  is  a  perma- 
nent member  of  the  National  Eclectic  Medical  Association.  In  the  year 
1864,  he  married,  in  Chicago,  Mary  Little,  of  Brooklyn,  New  York,  who 
is  a  native  of  Longford,  Ireland. 

Dr.  Paaren  is  a  close  student  of  veterinary  and  medical  science,  and  a 
gentleman  of  exceptional  general  intelligence.  As  a  writer  he  is  clear  in 
expression,  accurate  in  statement  and'  exceedingly  happy  in  style.  His 
thoughts  are  clothed  in  that  plain  and  pure  English,  which  is  the  beauty 
of  our  best  English  compositions.  His  articles  upon  veterinary  and  agricul- 
tural subjects  are  extensively  copied  by  journals  devoted  to  those  interests, 
and  are  regarded  as  authority.  His  position  in  this  respect  cannot  be  better 
illustrated  than  by  a  reference  to  the  high  character  of  the  publications  to 
which  he  is  a  regular  contributor,  and  also  to  the  fact  that  some  of  the 
best  publishing  houses  of  the  country  have  repeatedly  proffered  him  most 
liberal  terms  for  a  practical  veterinary  work  from  his  pen.  Having  been 
one  of  the  very  few  men  in  this  country  to  lift  veterinary  practice  into  the 
realm  of  science,  and  being  a  graduate  of  one  of  our  regular  medical  insti- 
tutions, a  work  of  this  character  would  command  very  great  confidence. 
It  may,  indeed,  be  truthfully  said  that  Dr.  Paaren  is  entitled  to  the  position 
of  being  the  most  thorough  and  accomplished  practitioner  in  his  profession 
in  the  United  States.  The  honors  already  bestowed  upon  him  are  indica- 
tive of  the  character  of  his  future. 


341 


N.  S.  DAVIS,  M.  D. 

Dr.  N.  S.  Davis  was  born  January  9th,  1817,  in  the  town  of  Greene, 
Chenango  county,  New  York.  He  was  a  farmer's  son,  and  enjoyed  few 
opportunities  for  literary  culture.  Following  the  pursuits  of  his  father, 
he  grew  up  with  simple  tastes  and  an  earnest  purpose. 

The  district  school  of  the  neighborhood  supplied  him  with  the  rudi- 
mentary branches  of  an  English  education,  and  he  afterward  spent  six 
months  in  Cazenovia  Seminary,  studying  mathematics,  the  natural  sciences 
and  Latin.  He  then  entered  the  office  of  Dr.  Daniel  Clark,  of  Smith- 
ville  Flats,  as  a  medical  student.  The  following  Winter  he  attended  the 
lectures  in  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  of  the  Western  dis- 
trict of  New  York,  at  Fairfield.  At  the  close  of  the  session  he  continued 
his  reading  in  the  office  of  Dr.  Thomas  Jackson,  of  Binghamton,  New 
York,  where  he  spent  the  two  succeeding  Summers,  returning  to  the  col- 
lege at  Fairfield  each  Winter.  In  January,  1837,  he  was  admitted  to  the 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine,  being  then  twenty  years  of  age. 

Upon  the  recommendation  of  the  Faculty,  he  was  invited  to  enter 
upon  the  practice  of  his  profession  as  the  successor  of  Dr.  Daniel  Chat- 
field,  of  Vienna,  Oneida  county,  New  York.  He  remained  there  only 
until  the  July  following,  when  he  removed  to  Binghamton,  where  he 
remained  ten  years,  gaining  a  strong  hold  upon  the  confidence  of  his 
professional  brethren,  and  endearing  himself  bv  his  fidelity  and  kindness 
to  a  large  circle  of  friends. 

During  his  residence  in  Binghamton,  his  contributions  to  the  medical 
journals  of  the  day,  and  his  interest  in  medical  organizations  made  him 
known  to  the  profession  as  an  earnest  student  and  thinker.  In  the  Spring 
of  1847,  ^n  Davis  removed  to  New  York  City  and  commenced  practice. 
At  the  close  of  the  Winter  session  of  the  College  of  Physicians  and 
Surgeons  of  that  city,  he  was  appointed  lecturer,  for  the  Spring  course, 
on  Medical  Jurisprudence.  In  1848,  he  commenced  the  publication  of 
the  ANNALIST,  a  medical  journal,  of  which  he  continued  to  be  the  editor 
and  proprietor  until  his  removal  to  the  West. 

In  July,  1849,  the  Faculty  and  Trustees  of  Rush  Medical  College, 
of  Chicago,  offered  Dr.  Davis  the  chair  of  Physiology  and  Pathology 
which  he  accepted,  having  long  desired  to  become  a  resident  of  the 
West.  The  following  year  the  Professor  of  Practical  Medicine  tendered 
his  resignation,  and  Professor  Davis  was  called  upon  to  fill  the  vacancy. 


242 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 


In  the  Summer  of  1850,  he  delivered  a  course  of  six  lectures  upon 
the  sanitary  condition  of  the  city,  which  was  then  most  deplorable.  He 
discussed  more  particularly  the  water  supply  and  sewerage,  and  there  is 
little  doubt  that  these  lectures  had  much  to  do  in  arousing  public  senti- 
ment on  these  subjects.  The  system  of  sewerage  proposed  by  him  was 
essentially  the  same  as  that  subsequently  adopted. 

In  the  development  of  the  social  and  material  interests  of  our  city, 
Dr.  Davis  has  also  been  active.  He  early  became  associated  with  a  num- 
ber of  our  prominent  citizens  in  the  organization  of  a  society  for  the 
systematic  relief  of  the  poor.  This  was  conducted  for  a  number  of 
years,  accomplishing  a  great  deal  of  good.  It  was  finally  transferred  to 
the  relief  department  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association. 

No  man  has  labored  more  earnestly  than  he  against  intemperance. 
On  all  appropriate  occasions,  he  has  battled  courageously  with  this 
monstrous  evil.  He  has  not  restricted  his  efforts  to  prevention  alone,  but 
has  sought  to  cure  confirmed  drunkards.  He  was  one  of  the  founders 
of  the  Washingtonian  Home,  for  the  reformation  of  inebriates. 

In  the  Autumn  of  1850,  the  Illinois  General  Hospital  of  the  Lakes 
was  opened  in  the  old  Lake  House,  with  Drs.  Davis  and  J.  V.  Z.  Blaney 
as  the  physicians.  The  twelve  beds  with  which  the  wards  of  this  hospital 
were  furnished  were  procured  from  the  proceeds  of  the  lectures  previ- 
ously alluded  to.  In  the  Spring  of  1851,  the  institution  was  transferred 
to  the  Sisters  of  Mercy,  who  have  ever  since  continued  its  management. 

Dr.  Davis  was  one  of  the  originators  of  the  Chicago  Medical  Society. 
He  was  also  one  of  the  earliest  members  of  the  Illinois  State  Medical 
Society.  His  interest  in  the  American  Medical  Association  has  always 
continued,  and  in  1864,  he  was  elected  to  its  Presidency. 

On  coming  to  the  West,  Dr.  Davis  gave  his  hearty  support  to  medi- 
cal literature,  contributing  frequently  to  the  NORTHWESTERN  MEDICAL 
AND  SURGICAL  JOURNAL.  In  1855,  he  became  one  of  its  editors,  and 
subsequently  assumed  its  entire  control.  He  afterward  transferred  his 
interest  in  this  journal  to  the  late  Dr.  Brainard,  and  began  the  publication 
of  the  CHICAGO  MEDICAL  EXAMINER,  a  monthly  of  sixty-four  pages. 

The  influence  and  example  of  Dr.  Davis  have  always  been  upon  the 
side  of  virtue  and  good  morals.  Since  his  sixteenth  year  he  has  been 
a  constant  member  of  some  branch  of  the  Methodist  Church,  taking  an 
active  part  generally  in  sustaining  all  moral  and  religious  institutions. 
His  public  and  his  private  charities  have  been  large  and  continuous. 

It  is  not  perhaps,  too  much  to  say  of  Dr.  Davis,  that  he  stands  among 
the  very  first  of  his  profession  in  this  country.  This  prominence,  how- 
ever, has  been  reached  by  unremitting  toil  and  unwearied  effort.  His 
teachings,  which  have  been  listened  to  by  thousands  of  young  men,  have 
not  been  without  their  power  and  influence. 


243 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


THE  BENCH  AND  LEGAL  PROFESSION. 

It  is  sometimes  said  that  in  America  alone  is  there  an  aristocracy  of 
lawyers,  reference  being  had  by  such  expression  to  the  numerous  public 
positions  of  honor  and  trust  which  are  filled  by  members  of  this  profes- 
sion; and  it  is  true  that  in  no  other  country  in  the  world  do  lawyers  hold 
so  many  public  offices.  In  our  State  and  national  legislatures,  they  largely 
predominate  over  all  other  callings  combined,  and  at  the  head  of  nearly 
every  public  movement  the  lawyer  takes  his  place  as  naturally  as  if  born 
for  the  position.  Nor  is  there  anything  unnatural  in  this  in  a  country  where 
the  race  for  position  is  open  to  all,  and  in  which  the  fleetest  wins  the 
prize.  If  there  is  an  aristocracy  of  lawyers  among  us,  it  is  an  aristocracy 
of  mind  and  culture,  and  its  existence  is  confined  to  a  republic,  because 
amidst  such  surroundings,  mind  and  not  birth,  achieves  the  brightest  laurels 
that  society  has  to  bestow.  Our  eminent  lawyers,  as  a  rule,  have  come 
from  humble  origins,  and  have  hewn  their  way,  single-handed,  through 
mountains  of  difficulties  to  eminence  and  affluence;  but  from  whatever 
station  of  life  they  may  have  started,  the  pathway  to  greatness  was  through 
the  rough  rocks  and  never  through  soft  and  laughing  flower  beds.  An 
eminent  lawyer  once  described  the  lot  of  the  profession  as  a  compulsion  to 
work  hard,  live  well  and  die  poor;  and  really  this  might  be  an  appropriate 
epitaph  upon  the  tombstones  that  mark  the  last  resting  places  of  the  ma- 
jority of  deceased  lawyers  of  distinction.  When  less  successful  men  are 
sleeping  and  recreating,  the  lawyer  is  burning  the  midnight  oil,  and  strain- 
ing an  already  overworked  intellect  and  eyes  that  are  heavily  burdened. 
It  is  related  of  Rufus  Choate,  that  he  would  remain  in  his  office  night 
after  night,  way  into  the  small  hours,  and  the  passer-by  could  see  the 
flickering  of  the  light  through  the  old  fashioned  panes  in  Boston's  Old 
State  House.  To  prevent  such  studious  application  from  achieving  success 
in  a  land  where  the  canopy  of  republicanism  protectingly  covers  every 
cradle  and  every  soul,  inviting  the  mind  to  achieve  whatever  its  own 
strength  will  sanction,  is  something  that  is  impossible.  If  there  is  danger 
to  popular  liberty  in  the  selection  of  so  many  from  this  brilliant  profession 
to  enact  and  execute  American  laws — and  there  are  those  who  foolishly 
imagine  that  they  can  discern  such  danger — the  fault  is  not  with  the  pro- 
fession, but  with  the  Creator  who  has  invested  developed  mind  with  a 
charm  that  mankind  cannot  resist,  and  with  our  form  of  government  which 
recognizes  the  right  of  the  best  intellects  to  occupy  the  proudest  positions. 


244  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

It  is  not  meant  to  be  affirmed  here  that  lawyers  are  superior  in  intellect 
and  mental  training  to  all  other  classes  of  professional  men;  but  it  is  evident 
that  while  in  the  other  professions  there  are  hard  working  members,  there 
is  no  such  need  of  the  constant  mental  strain  which  is  imposed  upon  the 
successful  lawyer,  and,  consequently,  it  is  not  endured  by  other  professional 
men  as  a  class.  With  exceptions  that  are  so  few  that  they  may  almost  be 
termed  rare,  men  will  not  exert  themselves  to  an  extraordinary  degree, 
either  mentally  or  physically,  unless  forced  by  circumstances  to  do  so;  and 
this  explains  the  reason  of  so  large  a  number  of  lawyers  becoming  promi- 
nent outside  of  their  profession,  and  so  few  of  other  professional  men 
becoming  distinguished  as  politicians,  statesmen  and  general  leaders.  But 
/admitting  that  the  other  professions  contain  many  who  are  as  competent 
as  those  in  the  profession  of  law,  to  fill  any  position  in  the  gift  of  the 
people,  but  who  are  still  unknown  outside  of  their  professional  walks, 
what  is  the  explanation?  It  will  be  found,  we  think,  in  the  fact  that  law- 
yers are  brought  constantly  in  contact  with  the  public  in  such  a  way  as  to 
make  it  apparent  that  their  professional  life  does  not  in  any  way  unfit  them 
for  the  arduous  duties  of  an  official  life.  It  is  different  with  the  physician  and 
minister,  whose  callings  are  of  that  peculiar  nature  that  while  their  abilities 
are  acknowledged,  the  belief  attains  that  they  would  not  care  to  breast  the 
turbulent  current  of  an  official  public  life;  and  usually  they  do  not.  The 
editor  is  peculiarly  constituted  and  as  peculiarly  situated.  A  power  behind 
the  throne,  the  great  public  knows  him  only  through  his  paper,  and  with 
comparatively  few  exceptions  in  the  history  of  the  profession,  the  editor, 
with  his  signal  fitness  for  official  position,  prefers  the  more  influential 
station  of  the  molder  of  public  opinion.  All  things  considered,  therefore} 
the  lawyer,  of  all  professional  men,  is  the  favored  of  the  professional 
classes,  in  the  way  of  political  promotion  and  acknowledged  leader- 
ship. 

These  are  some  of  the  grounds  which  sustain  what  some  are  pleased 
to  call  an  aristocracy  of  lawyers — an  aristocracy  whose  members  have 
received  their  titles  from  nature  or  won  them  by  honest  application  and 
toil;  and  until  the  laws  of  cause  and  effect  shall  have  become  subverted, 
superior  mental  culture,  among  any  class,  will  never  harm  a  republic  to  the 
extent  of  a  hair's  breadth. 

Chicago,  almost  from  the  very  beginning  of  her  modern  history,  has 
been  distinguished  for  the  brilliancy  and  profoundness  of  her  lawyers.  The 
legal  mind  was  as  quick  to  perceive  the  outlook  of  Chicago  as  was  any 
other  mind,  and  it  came  early  to  mingle  its  light  with  that  of  kindred 
minds,  to  illumine  the  pathway  of  progress.  Some  of  our  most  eminent 
lawyers  still  live  to  tell  of  their  early  experience  in  the  hamlet  by  the  lake 
side,  when  the  wolf  howled  in  the  hearing  of  the  judge,  and  the  strolling 
Indian  looked  upon  the  paraphernalia  of  justice,  and  wondered  what  it  all 
meant;  and  he  has  been  wondering  ever  since.  Some  of  those  whose 
counsel  was  golden,  and  whose  speech  in  the  halls  of  justice  was  silver, 
have  been  gathered  with  the  fathers,  but  their  footsteps  will  never  be 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS   DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 


245 


washed  from  the  sands.  Space  will  allow  the  mention  of  but  few  of 
either  the  dead  or  living,  but  the  excellence  of  mind  and  heart  of  those  who 
may  receive  notice,  is  fairly  representative  of  the  bar  and  bench  of  Chicago. 

Giles  Spring,  who  became  Judge  Spring,  and  who  died  a  few  years 
since,  was  one  of  the  early  lights  of  this  bar.  Judge  Spring  was  a  very 
remarkable  man,  although  he  was  what  may  be  termed  a  natural  lawyer, 
rather  than  a  book  lawyer.  He  would  intuitively  grasp  the  merits  of  a 
case  at  once,  and  in  a  few  words  set  it  forth  to  the  simplest  understanding, 
In  the  trial  of  cases  he  was  nervously  active,  grasping  points  quickly,  and 
although  his  language  was  not  the  best  of  old  English,  his  rapidity  of 
thought  and  rapid  expression  constituted  him  a  charming  power. 

Lisle  Smith  was  also  one  of  the  pioneer  lawyers,  and  although  not 
profound  as  a  lawyer,  was  brilliantly  eloquent,  and  highly  successful  as  a 
practitioner. 

Isaac  N.  Arnold  and  Judge  Goodrich,  who  still  live  to  recount  their 
many  triumphs,  were  ornaments  of  Chicago's  infant  bar.  Mr.  Arnold 
was  particularly  distinguished  as  a  criminal  lawyer,  and  for  many  years 
was  engaged  in  the  defense  of  all  important  criminal  cases.  He  is  now 
retired  from  practice,  and  is  living  upon  the  income  of  a  handsome  fortune 
which  he  accumulated  in  the  practice  of  his  profession. 

Judge  Goodrich  came  to  Chicago  in  May,  1834,  and  soon  after  formed 
a  copartnership  with,  A.  N.  Fullerton.  The  firm  dealt  largely  in  real  estate 
and  accumulated  a  considerable  fortune.  Afterward  he  dissolved  partner- 
ship with  Mr.  Fullerton,  and  formed  a  copartnership  with  Judge  Spring, 
and  this  continued  until  shortly  before  his  election  as  judge.  Judge  Good- 
rich was  a  severe  sufferer  in  the  panic  of  1837,  losing,  in  fact,  all  he  had 
accumulated.  But  the  sterling  honesty  of  the  man  forbade  him  following 
the  advice  of  his  friends  and  seeking  relief  in  bankruptcy.  On  the  con- 
trary he  determined  to  pay  every  dollar  he  owed.  He  is  an  able  lawyer, 
and  has  enjoyed  one  of  the  largest  practices  that  has  ever  fallen  to  the  lot 
of  any  of  our  prominent  lawyers. 

Henry  W.  Blodgett,  the  present  Judge  of  the  United  States  District 
Court  in  this  district,  came  to  Chicago  in  1842,  when  only  twenty-one 
years  old.  Upon  his  arrival  he  immediately  entered  the  office  of  Jonathan 
Young  Scammon,  and  began  the  study  of  law,  afterward  continuing  his 
studies  in  the  office  of  the  late  Norman  B.  Judd.  Upon  being  admitted  to 
the  bar,  he  entered  upon  a  very  successful  practice  which  extended  into 
many  of  the  adjoining  counties,  and  into  Wisconsin.  In  time  he  drifted 
almost  wholly  into  a  railroad  practice. 

Jonathan  Young  Scammon  has  been  identified  with  the  Chicago  bar 
since  1835,  an(^  was  at  one  time  a  partner  of  B.  S.  Morris,  and  at  another 
of  Norman  B.  Judd.  His  life  has  been  a  very  active  one,  and  as  a  lawyer 
he  has  always  had  the  respect  and  confidence  which  ability  deserves. 

The  late  Norman  B.  Judd  arrived  in  Chicago  in  November,  1836,  and 
at  once  entered  upon  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  company  with  Judge 
Caton,  who  had  been  an  old  friend  and  schoolmate,  and  by  whose  advice 


246  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

Mr.  Judd  came  to  the  new  city.      He  was  a  diligent  and  able  lawyer,  and 
died  lamented  by  the  bar  and  a  host  of  friends  outside. 

Thomas  Hoyne  was  born  in  the  city  of  New  York  in  1817,  and  came  to 
Chicago  in  1837.  He  had  previously  studied  law  to  some  little  extent,  but 
after  arriving  here,  completed  his  law  reading  in  the  office  of  J.  Y.  Scam- 
mon,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1839.  In  1842  he  removed  to  Galena, 
but  after  a  two  years'  residence  there,  returned  to  Chicago  and  resumed  the 
practice  of  his  profession.  In  1876  he  was  elected  Mayor  of  the  city,  but 
owing  to  some  technicality  in  the  law,  the  courts  decided  that  the  term  of 
the  previous  Mayor  had  not  expired. 

John  D.  Caton,  late  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court,  was  one  of 
the  ablest  lawyers  of  the  early  days,  although  in  looking  over  his  decis- 
ions, after  he  became  judge,  it  is  evident  that  the  full  strength  of  his  fine  legal 
mind  fully  matured  only  after  years  of  experience.  His  later  decisions  are 
much  firmer  and  broader  than  his  earlier  ones,  and  it  is  due  to  him  to  say 
that  many  of  the  ablest  and  most  important  decisions  of  the  Supreme  Court 
were  prepared  by  him.  Possessed  of  a  large  fortune,  and  enjoying  an 
unusual  degree  of  respect,  he  has  retired  from  the  bench  and  the  profession. 

Robert  S.  Blackwell  was  another  of  the  lights  which  have  shed  a 
beautiful  luster  upon  the  profession.  He  was  a  very  astute  lawyer,  and 
being  remarkably  familiar  with  cases,  would  be  called  a  case  lawyer. 
Almost  instantly  he  was  able  to  cite  all  the  authorities  bearing  upon  a  case 
in  hand.  Before  a  jury,  too,  he  was  a  very  effective  speaker. 

Buckner  S.  Morris — one  of  the  Mayors  of  the  city — came  from  Ken- 
tucky, and  soon  arose  to  a  commanding  position  in  the  profession.  Not  a 
profound  man,  he  was  a  man  of  a  great  deal  of  ability,  and  before  the  usual 
jury  was  highly  successful.  Toward  the  end  of  his  life,  he  naturally  lost 
much  of  the  force  which  characterized  his  earlier  life,  but  he  kept  up  his 
practice  till  near  the  time  of  his  death. 

Justin  Butterfield  and  James  H.  Collins,  who  were  partners,  were 
both  excellent  and  noted  lawyers.  The  firm  was  regarded  as  the  ablest  in 
Chicago,  and  transacted  more  first  class  business  in  the  city,  if  not  in  the 
State,  than  any  other  firm  in  Chicago.  Mr.  Collins  was  a  laborious 
lawyer.  He  comprehended  a  case  by  investigating  it  point  by  point, 
deductively.  The  action  of  his  mind  was  logical,  and  he  never  contracted 
the  habit  which  seems  to  beset  some  lawyers,  of  drawing  upon  his  imagi- 
nation for  his  facts,  but  strictly  confined  himself  to  the  evidence  in  the  case. 

Patrick  Benningall  will  be  favorably  remembered  by  some  of  the  older 
members  of  the  bar.  In  the  estimation  of  the  profession  he  was  regarded 
as  one  of  the  ablest  criminal  lawyers,  as  a  prosecutor,  that  ever  prosecuted 
cases  in  this  county.  Of  Irish  birth,  he  possessed  the  natural  wit  and 
brilliancy  of  that  race,  and  in  addition  had  an  excellent  logical  mind. 

Daniel  McEllroy,  also  a  native  of  Ireland,  was  prominent  as  a  prose- 
cutor in  criminal  cases.  He  was  not  as  logical  as  Benningall,  but  was 
more  imaginative.  He  may  justly  be  regarded  as  a  lawyer  of  brilliant, 
parts,  who  was  an  honor  to  the  bar  of  which  we  write. 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS   DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  247 

John  M.  Wilson  came  to  Chicago  in    1841,  and   is  one  of  the  pro- 
foundest  lawyers  that  ever  practiced   at  this  bar.      He  was  born  in  New 
Hampshire    in    1802.       His    father,  James   Wilson,  was  a  man   of  great 
business  ability,  and  having  been  very  successful  in  mercantile  business,  was 
esteemed  the   richest  man   in  the  State.       The   mother's  name  was  Mary 
McNeil,  and  she  was  a  sister  of  General  John  McNeil,  who  was  in  com- 
mand of  a  portion  of  the  American  army  at  Lundy's   Lane,  where  he  was 
severely  wounded.      John  M.  was  a  classmate   in    Bowdoin  College   of 
Franklin  Pierce.     He  studied  law  with  Edmund  Parker,  of  Amherst,  New 
Hampshire,  and  afterward  at  the  Law  School  at  New  Haven,  Connecticut. 
After  being  admitted  to  the  bar,  he  commenced   practice  in  company  with 
John  A.  Knowles,  at  Lowell,  Massachusetts,  where  he  remained  until  1835, 
when  he  came  West,  settling  at  Joliet,  Illinois,  and  practiced  there  until  he 
settled  in  Chicago.     Here  he  entered  into  partnership  with  the  late   Nor- 
man B.  Judd,  practicing  mostly  as  a  railroad   lawyer,  the   firm   being  the 
attorneys  of  the  Chicago  and  Rock  Island,  the  Lake  Shore  and  Michigan 
Southern  and   the  Chicago  and   Northwestern   Railroad   Companies.     In 
1853  Mr.  Wilson  was  elected  judge  of  the  Cook  County  Court  of  Com- 
mon Pleas,  holding   that  position  until  1859,  when  the  name  of  the  court 
was  changed  to  that  of  the  Superior  Court  of  Chicago,  Mr.  Wilson  being 
designated  in   the  Act  of  the  legislature  changing  the  name,  as  the  Chief 
Justice  of  the  new  court,  a  position  which  he  held  until  1868,  when  he  was 
succeeded  by  W.  A.  Porter.     Mr.  Wilson  is  still  living,  and  in  his  ripe  old 
age  finds  nothing  but  hearty  plaudits  for  his  ability  as  a  lawyer,  his  char- 
acter as  a  judge   and  a  citizen  among  those  who  knew  him  in  his  prime. 
Thus  was  the  foundation  of  Chicago's  brilliant   legal  profession   laid. 
The  bench  has  been  made  from  the  bar,  and  has  necessarily  partaken  of  its 
ability  and  other  characteristics.     In  no  city  in  the  country  can  be  found  a 
bench  which  in  any  desirable  particular  can  surpass  our  own.     Never  has 
a  breath  of  scandal  touched  the  character  of  one  of  our  judges,  and  never 
has  there  been  a  lack  of  confidence   in  the  ability   and   integrity  of  our 
courts.     To  those  who  believe  that  an  elective  judiciary  is  almost  incom- 
patible with  integrity  and  a  high  order  of  talent — and  it  must  be  admitted 
that  in  some  cities  the  history  of  the  bench  has  given  grounds  for  such  a 
belief-— the  bench  in   Chicago   must  appear    in   a   character   of  dazzling 
splendor,  not  to  sav  mystery.     The  strictest  regard  for  the  necessary  quali- 
fications has  usually  been  observed   in  the  selection  of  candidates  for  the 
high  position,  and,  perhaps,  it  may  be  said,  in  truth,  that  the  Bar  Associa- 
tion, which  is  composed  of  our  most  able  and  reputable  lawyers,  and  which 
exercises  a  sort  of  surveillance  over  matters  pertaining  to  the  administration 
of  justice,  is  largely  the  cause,  in  later  years,  of  this  care  in  the  selection  of 
candidates  for  the   bench.      Whatever  may  be  the   cause,  however,   the 
satisfactory  fact  is  that  our  judges   have   been  men  of  learning  and  unim- 
peachable character. 

The  United  States  Circuit  Court  is  presided  over  by  Thomas  Drum- 
mond,  who  was  appointed    to   the  position   from  the    District   bench,  in 


248  CHICAGO  AND  ITS   DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

December,  1869,  and  assumed  the  duties  in  January  of  the  following  year. 
In  the  performance  of  his  judicial  duties  Judge  Drummond  is  patient  and 
faithful,  and  his  profound  knowledge  of  the  law  constitutes  him  one  of  the 
best  judges  that  ever  sat  upon  the  bench  of  any  court.  His  decisions  are 
always  concise  and  yet  expressive.  In  addition  to  his  other  virtues,  a  more 
conscientious  man  never  wore  the  judicial  robes.  The  United  States 
District  Court  is  presided  over,  as  already  remarked,  by  Henry  W.  Blod- 
gett,  who  was  appointed  to  the  position  on  the  twelfth  of  January,  1870. 

Richard  J.  Hamilton  occupied  the  first  local  judicial  position,  having 
been  appointed  Probate  Judge  and  Notary  Public  in  1831.  The  first  term 
of  court  was  held  by  Richard  M.  Young,  in  the  Autumn  of  1833.  In 
May  of  the  following  year,  he  held  another  term  in  the  Mansion  House, 
which  stood  on  the  north  side  of  Lake  street,  a  little  east  of  Dearborn. 
Judge  Young  also  held  the  court  in  the  Fall  of  this  year.  In  the  Spring 
of  1875,  Sidney  Breese,  afterward  a  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and 
a  United  States  Senator,  held  the  term,  and  in  the  Fall  Stephen  T. 
Logan  presided.  Thomas  Ford  was  the  presiding  judge  in  1836.  In  1837 
the  charter  of  the  city  provided  for  the  establishment  of  a  Municipal  Court, 
with  a  jurisdiction  limited  to  the  city,  and  Judge  Ford  became  judge  of 
the  new  court,  occupying  the  position  until  the  abolishment  of  the  court 
two  years  later.  Theophilus  W.  Smith,  one  of  the  justices  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  presided  at  several  terms  of  the  Circuit  Court  between  1836  and 
1839,  and  Stephen  A.  Douglas  held  one  term  in  1839. 

About  this  time,  the  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  having  been  re- 
lieved from  the  duty  of  holding  the  Circuit  Courts,  John  Pearson  was 
appointed  to  this  Circuit,  and  held  the  position  until  1844,  when  Richard 
M.  Young  again  became  judge.  He  was  succeeded  by  J.  B.  Thomas,  who 
remained  upon  the  bench  until  1849,  when  he  resigned,  and  was  succeeded 
by  Hugh  T.  Dickey,  the  present  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court. 
Judge  Dickey  resigned  the  position  in  1853,  and  Buckner  S.  Morris  was 
elected  for  the  balance  of  the  term,  which  expired  in  1855.  At  that  time 
George  Manierre  was  elected  for  the  term  of  six  years,  at  the  expiration 
of  which  he  was  elected  his  own  successor,  dying,  however,  before  his 
second  term  was  completed.  Judge  Manierre  was  succeeded  by  Erastus 
W.  Williams,  who  served  out  the  unexpired  term  of  the  former,  and  was 
re-elected  to  a  second  term. 

The  Cook  County  Court  of  Common  Pleas  was  created  in  1845,  with 
about  the  same  jurisdiction  that  the  Circuit  Court  possessed.  Hugh  T. 
Dickey  was  appointed  the  first  judge  of  the  new  court.  He  resigned  in 
1849  and  was  elected  to  the  Circuit  bench.  Mark  Skine  was  elected  to 
serve  out  Judge  Dickey's  unexpired  term,  upon  the  termination  of  which 
Giles  Spring  was  elected  to  the  position,  which  he  continued  to  occupy 
until  1853,  when  he  died.  John  M.  Wilson  was  next  elected,  and  held 
the  office,  as  already  stated,  until  the  court  was  changed  to  the  Superior 
Court,  of  which  Mr.  Wilson  was  the  first  Chief  Justice.  This  court  was 
to  consist  of  three  judges,  and  Van  H.  Higgins  and  Grant  Goodrich  were 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  249 

elected  as  associate  justices.  In  1868,  W.  A.  Porter  succeeded  Judge 
Wilson.  Judge  Porter  died  in  1873,  and  Samuel  M.  Mrfore  was  elected 
to  fill  the  vacancy.  In  1863  Judge  Goodrich  gave  way  to  Joseph  E.Gary, 
and  Judge  Higgins  was  succeeded  in  1865  by  John  A.Jameson.  In  the 
Spring  of  1880  Sidney  Smith  succeeded  Judge  Moore. 

In  1871  the  legislature  passed  an  Act  providing  for  the  election  of 
four  additional  judges  for  the  Circuit  Court  of  Cook  county,  and  in  the 
Autumn  of  that  year  Henry  W.  Booth,  John  G.  Rogers,  W.  W.  Farwell 
and  Lambert  Tree  were  elected  under  the  new  law.  Judge  Tree  resign- 
ing before  the  expiration  of  his  term  of  office,  William  K.  McAllister  was 
elected  to  fill  out  the  term,  and  was  re-elected,  as  was  also  Judge  Rogers, 
in  1879,  Murray  F.  Tuley,  W.  H.  Barnum  and  Thomas  A.  Moran  being 
at  the  same  time  elected  in  the  place  of  Judges  Booth,  Farwell  and 
Williams. 

From  this  bar  and  profession  thus  briefly  described,  some  of  the  most 
brilliant  minds  have  gone  forth  to  shine  in  even  higher  spheres,  and  have 
charmed  the  nation  and  the  world  with  their  brilliancy.  It  is  not  necessary 
to  more  than  mention  the  name  of  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  and  even  that  is 
not  necessary.  Wherever  civilization  has  quickened  the  intellect  to  appre- 
ciate the  divinity  of  mind,  his  name  is  familiar,  and  the  noble  shaft  which 
an  admiring  people  have  reared  in  the  city  upon  which  his  name  and  career 
shed  such  matchless  luster,  is  evidence  that  Chicago  is  proud  of  her  early 
lawyer  and  judge*  Richard  M.  Young,  too,  was  a  senator  from  Illinois; 
and  Thomas  Ford  became  governor  of  the  State.  To  this  list  many  famous 
names  might  be  added,  but  they  are  quite  familiar  to  the  student  of  men 
and  passing  events. 


250 


JAMES  KIRTLAND   EDSALL. 

James  Kirtland  Eclsall  was  born  at  Windham,  Greene  county,  New 
York,  May  loth,  1831,  and  is  the  son  of  Joseph  Edsall  and  Nancy  Kirtland. 

His  grandfather,  John  Edsall,  served  in  the  Revolutionary  War,  and 
was  with  General  Washington  at  the  crossing  of  the  Delaware,  and  be- 
longed to  a  family  who  settled  with  the  early  colonists  in  New 
Jersey. 

Joseph  Edsall,  father  of  our  subject,  was  possessed  of  unusual  natural 
abilities  and  extensive  general  information.  "He  took  deep  interest  in  the 
cause  of  education,  and  spared  no  pains  in  giving  his  children  every  means 
of  mental  culture. 

His  mother  was  born  in  Connecticut,  but  removed  with  her  parents, 
Richard  Kirtland  and  Lydia  Lord  Kirtland,  to  Durham,  New  York> 
whence  the  family  subsequently  removed  to  Windham,  the  birthplace  of 
the  subject  of  this  sketch.  She  was  a  lady  of  superior  education,  an 
exemplary  Christian,  and  by  the  purity  of  her  self-sacrificing  life,  left  upon 
her  children  the  impress  of  her  noble  character. 

James  received  his  early  education  in  the  common  schools,  and  later 
pursued  a  course  of  study  comprising  modern  sciences,  mathematics, 
languages  and  classics,  in  the  Prattsville  Academy,  at  Prattsville,  New 
York,  paying  his  expenses  by  teaching  and  work  upon  the  home  farm. 
His  father  selected  him  as  the  lawyer  of  the  family,  and  at  the  age  of 
twelve  his  brothers  and  sisters  conferred  upon  him  the  title  of  "counselor." 
His  brother  Henry  was  in  like  manner  set  apart  for  a  physician  and  dubbed 
"doctor."  The  success  which  has  attended  each  in  his  life-work  shows 
the  correctness  of  their  father's  estimate  of  their  abilities. 

James  left  the  Academy  in  1851,  and  began  the  study  of  law  in  the 
office  of  Herman  Winans,  of  Prattsville,  and  taught  during  the  Winter. 
In  the  Spring  of  1852  he  took  a  clerkship  in  the  office  of  Alexander 
H.  Bailey,  of  Catskill,  New  York,  where  he  could  pay  his  expenses  and 
at  the  same  time  pursue  his  studies.  In  the  following  September  he 
passed  examination  for  the  bar,  before  the  Justices  of  the  Supreme  Court 
at  Albany,  New  York.  In  December,  1853,  he  removed  to  Milwaukee, 
and  in  the  following  Summer  to  Fond  du  Lac,  Wisconsin,  thence  to  St. 
Paul,  Minnesota,  and  in  the  Fall  of  1854  settled  at  Leavenvvorth,  Kansas. 
There  he  was  made  a  candidate  on  the  free  State  ticket  to  the  first  Terri- 
torial legislature;  and  though  he  received  a  majority  of  the  resident  votes, 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS   DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  251 

armed  bodies  of  men  came  over  from  Missouri,  and  by  fraudulent  voting 
elected  the  slave  State  candidate. 

In  1855  he  was  elected  to  the  legislature,  which  was  organized  under 
what  was  known  as  the  "Topeka  constitution."  He  participated  in  the 
deliberations  of  that  body  and  was  a  member  of  the  committee  to  draft  a 
code  of  laws  for  Kansas.  He  was  present  as  a  member  of  the  Topeka 
legislature  on  the  fourth  of  July,  1856,  when  it  was  broken  up  by  United 
States  troops  under  orders  from  President  Pierce. 

He  was  married  July  24th,  1856,  to  Caroline  Florella  More,  at 
Florence,  Michigan,  whence  her  family  had  removed  from  Delhi,  New 
York.  Three  children  were  born  to  them,  viz:  James  Star,  April  yth, 
1858,  Samuel  Cook,  March  4th,  1860,  and  Emily  Farrington,  June  25th, 
1862.  Samuel  is  the  only  survivor  of  these  children,  and  is  now  a  student 
at  law.  The  family  are  communicants  in  the  Episcopal  church. 

In  August,  1856,  the  subject  of  this  sketch  removed  to  Dixon,  Illinois, 
and  resumed  the  practice  of  his  profession.  Then  twenty-five  years  of 
age,  he  soon  took  a  leading  position  at  the  bar  in  Northern  Illinois,  and 
built  up  an  extensive  practice.  His  name  frequently  appears  as  counsel 
in  the  reports  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  rarely  upon  the  losing  side.  In 
1863  he  was  elected  mayor  of  his  city,  and  in  1870  was  elected  to  the 
Senate  of  the  Twenty-seventh  General  Assembly  of  Illinois,  and  in  this 
capacity  served  two  years. 

This  body  contained  several  of  the  ablest  lawyers  of  the  State,  and 
among  them  Mr.  Edsall  was  accorded  a  position  of  the  first  rank.  The 
adoption  of  the  new  constitution  of  1870  rendered  it  necessary  to  frame 
general  laws  to  take  the  place  of  the  incongruous  mass  of  special  legisla- 
tion which  had  previously  been  in  vogue;  and  by  common  consent  it 
seems  to  have  been  thought  necessary  to  confide  that  duty  to  the  most 
competent  hands.  The  present  complete  and  excellent  general  law  for 
the  incorporation  of  cities  and  villages  was  framed  in  the  Senate  Com- 
mittee on  Municipalities,  of  which  Mr.  Edsall  was  chairman,  and  most  of 
its  provisions  bear  the  impress  of  his  study  and  thought.  The  sections 
of  the  conveyance  act  were  drafted  by  him,  which  prescribed  short  forms 
of  deeds  and  mortgages,  so  brief  as  to  contain  but  few  more  words  than 
an  ordinary  promissory  note,  aside  from  names  of  parties  and  necessary 
descriptions;  and  yet  so  complete  and  comprehensive  that  the  single  word 
"warrant"  is  made  to  express  full  covenants  for  title  written  out  in  the 
mo.st  exact  legal  phraseology.  The  public  and  the  bar  are  more  indebted 
to  him  than  to  any  one  else  for  the  incorporation  into  the  practice  act  of 
1872  those  liberal  provisions  which  have  rescued  the  common  law  system 
of  pleading  and  practice  in  use  in  this  State,  from  the  reproach  which  it 
must  be  conceded,  to  some  extent  rested  upon  it.  His  clear  head,  sound 
judgment  and  extensive  legal  acquirements  were  such  as  to  enable  him  to 
distinguish  the  meritorious  and  beneficial  system  of  the  practice  based 
upon  the  common  law  from  those  excrescences  which  had  fastened  them- 
selves upon  the  system,  and  constituted  an  unnecessary  obstruction  in  the 


252  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS, 

administration  of  justice.  He  took  a  leading  part  in  the  discussion  of 
the  important  questions  which  came  before  the  Senate,  and  prepared  the 
report  of  the  Judiciary  Committee  in  support  of  the  right  of  the  State  to 
impose  and  collect  reasonable  tolls  for  the  use  of  improvements  of  the 
navigation  of  the  Illinois  river  constructed  by  the  State.  He  made  an 
argument  of  great  power  in  support  of  the  constitutionality  of  govern- 
mental control  of  railroads  and  warehouses,  which  was  then  denied  or 
doubted  by  a  large  portion  of  the  legal  profession.  At  the  conclusion 
of  his  speech  he  predicted  that  this  power  would  ultimately  be  sustained 
by  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  a  prediction  which  has  been 
already  verified  by  the  decision  of  that  court  in  Munn  vs.  Illinois,  a  cause 
argued  by  him  in  behalf  of  the  State  as  Attorney  General.  At  the  con- 
clusion of  the  opinion  of  the  court  in  that  case  by  Chief  Justice  Waite, 
it  is  said :  "In  passing  upon  this  case  we  have  not  been  unmindful  of  the 
vast  importance  of  the  questions  involved.  This  and  cases  of  a  kindred 
character  were  argued  before  us  more  than  a  year  ago  by  most  eminent 
counsel,  and  in  a  manner  worthy  of  their  well-earned  reputations." 

In  1872  he  was  elected  Attorney  General  of  the  State,  and  was 
re-elected  to  the  same  office  in  1876.  The  manner  in  which  he  has  dis- 
charged the  duties  of  that  office  has  earned  for  him  the  admiration  of  his 
professional  brethren  and  the  gratitude  of  the  people.  The  case  of  Munn 
vs.  Illinois,  before  referred  to,  had  been  submitted  to  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  State  the  year  before  he  was  first  elected  Attorney  General,  and 
upon  the  authority  of  members  of  the  court  since  retired  from  the  bench, 
it  is  said  to  have  been  decided  against  the  State  when  considered  in  the 
conference,  but  the  opinion  had  not  been  announced.  A  re-argument 
of  the  cause  was  ordered  to  bring  the  case  before  the  court  as  it  became 
organized  after  the  election  of  two  Judges  to  fill  vacancies  caused  by 
resignation  and  the  expiration  of  official  terms.  Availing  himself  of  this 
opportunity,  Mr.  Edsall  having  become  Attorney  General,  filed  an  argu- 
ment in  behalf  of  the  State,  which  became  the  basis  of  the  opinion  of  the 
court  sustaining  the  power  of  the  State  to  pass  laws  prescribing  the  max- 
imum rates  of  charges  by  public  warehouse  men  for  the  storage  of  grain. 
A  petition  for  re-hearing  was  filed  by  the  counsel  for  the  warehouse  men 
upon  the  ground,  as  urged  by  them,  that  the  court  had  adopted  the  argu- 
ment of  the  Attorney  General,  which  it  was  claimed  they  had  not  had 
an  opportunity  to  answer.  The  petition  was  denied,  and  the  cause  was 
carried  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  with  the  result  before 
indicated. 

It  is  impossible  in  the  space  allotted  for  this  sketch  to  give  even  a 
summary  of  the  important  litigation  in  which  he  has  represented  the 
interests  of  the  State,  as  Attorney  General,  with  almost  unvarying  success. 
The  eight  years  during  which  he  held  that  office  has  been  an  epoch  in 
the  legal  and  constitutional  history  of  the  State.  The  revenue  cases 
which  he  has  carried  successfully  through  the  courts  of  the  State  and  the 
United  States,  involving  taxes  to  the  amount  of  millions  of  dollars,  speak 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  253 

for  themselves  as  to  the  value  of  his  services,  and  of  the  untiring  labor 
and  legal  talent  displayed  in  their  management. 

In  all  his  varied  career,  as  student,  lawyer,  legislator,  senator  and 
Attorney  General,  Mr.  Edsall  has  shown  himself  in  every  way  worthy 
of  the  important  trusts  imposed  upon  him.  Prompt  in  all  his  actions, 
decided  in  his  opinions  and  independent  in  thought,  he  has  never  deviated 
from  the  course  which  duty  has  marked  out,  and  has  always  acted  without 
regard  to  popular  favor.  A  lover  of  freedom  and  equality,  his  sympathies 
have  ever  been  enlisted  in  the  cause  of  the  oppressed,  and  he  has  firmly 
maintained  the  rights  of  the  people.  In  the  discharge  of  his  official  duties 
he  has  shown  himself  possessed  of  a  sound  judgment,  a  thorough  knowl- 
edge of  constitutional  law  and  the  principles  of  government,  and  that  he 
was  profoundly  versed  in  jurisprudence.  During  his  incumbency  of  the 
office  of  Attorney  General  his  official  opinions  have  been  constantly  sought 
and  acted  upon  by  the  Governor  and  other  executive  officers  of  the  State, 
upon  all  questions  of  a  legal  or  constitutional  difficulty,  and  he  has  invariably 
met  the  demands  of  the  occasion  in  such  manner  as  to  solve  the  problem 
presented  and  make  plain  the  path  of  official  duty.  Gifted  with  a  high 
order  of  talent,  patience,  perseverance  and  most  estimable  social  qualities, 
few  men  stand  higher  in  the  appreciation  of  the  public  than  James  K. 
Edsall. 

The  reputation  he  had  thus  made,  and  the  position  he  had  achieved 
before  the  public  was  such  that  it  was  generally  assumed  that  he  would 
be  a  candidate  for  Governor  of  the  State  at  the  election  in  1880.  But 
mere  official  positions,  not  within  the  line  of  his  profession,  appear  to  have 
no  attraction  for  him.  He  did  not  even  entertain  the  proposition  to  become 
a  candidate  for  Governor,  and  more  than  a  year  prior  to  the  expiration  of 
his  term  gave  notice  to  all  aspirants  to  the  office  of  Attorney  General 
that  he  designed  to  retire  to  private  practice,  and  would  not  be  a  candi- 
date for  that  office.  In  pursuance  of  this  resolution  he  removed  to  the  city 
of  Chicago  in  September,  1879,  and  here  opened  an  office  for  the  practice 
of  the  law. 


254 


LUTHER    LAFLIN  MILLS. 


In  glancing  over  the  list  of  the  world's  distinguished  men,  it  is 
especially  noticeable  that  the  achievements  which  have  made  the  vast  major- 
ity famous  were  made  in  middle  age,  or  even  later  in  life.  The  young 
man  thrown  into  the  midst  of  an  ocean  of  matured  intellect — which  is 
found  in  anv  direction  he  may  seek  to  make  his  mark — cannot  reasonably 
hope  to  attract  to  himself  an  unusual  degree  of  public  attention  until  he, 
too,  has  slowly  traversed  the  rugged  path  in  which  his  elders  have  gained 
experience  and  achieved  distinction;  and  should  he  find  himself  excepted 
from  the  application  of  the  well  recognized  general  rules  governing 
success  in  life,  he  may  attribute  his  fortune  to  very  superior  natural  endow- 
ments, supplemented  by  arduous  training  and  exhaustive  application  to 
duty.  The  world  is  too  full  of  well  directed  intellectual  energy  to  permit, 
for  a  moment,  the  thought  that  a  mind  however  naturallv  brilliant  and 
powerful,  can  float  into  great  and  permanent  prominence,  as  the  boat 
lazily  drifts  down  the  stream.  Life  is  a  desperate  conflict,  and  whoever 
gains  the  victory  on  any  field  of  the  battle,  must  pay  the  penalty  of  sleep- 
less vigilance  and  tireless  energy.  Especially  is  this  true  in  the  profession 
of  law,  in  which  are  found  the  most  cultured  and  astute  intellects  in  the 
world,  and  in  which  there  is  necessarily,  in  the  general  course  of  business, 
a  devotion  to  self-interest  that  prompts  the  adoption  of  any  measure 
sanctioned  by  law  and  honor,  to  defeat  an  opponent.  In  such  contests 
the  young  lawyer  may  well  hesitate  and  tremble  when  confronted  by  age 
and  large  experience.  It  is  related  of  even  Daniel  Webster,  that  on  one 
occasion,  when  spoken  to  by  a  friend  in  regard  to  his  evident  agitation 
of  mind,  he  replied:  "I  am  to  try  a  case  with  Silas  Wright,  and  he  is 
a  giant,  sir,  he  is  a  giant." 

The  bar  of  Chicago  has  many  giants,  men  of  national  and  even 
world  wide  repute  for  strength  of  intellect,  legal  acquirements  and  elo- 
quence; and  it  is  against  discouraging  odds  that  a  young  man  seeks  to 
rise  above  the  level  in  the  midst  of  such  surroundings.  Yet  the  subject 
of  this  sketch,  although  a  very  young  man,  has  achieved  substantial  suc- 
cess and  an  enviable  fame  in  his  exacting  profession  and  under  just  such 
unfavorable  conditions.  The  frequency  with  which  his  name  is  mentioned, 
the  universal  esteem  in  which  he  is  held,  and  the  full  appreciation  of  his 
ability,  which  is  everywhere  manifest,  would  inevitably  lead  a  stranger 
to  conclude  that  Mr.  Mills  was  a  man  of  much  greater  age  than  he  is. 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  255 

While  being  an  excellent  lawyer  in  all  that  that  term  implies,  perhaps 
he  may  be  considered  strongest  when  before  a  jury,  where  he  is  a  power 
that  is  well  nigh  resistless.  Possessed  of  an  analytical  and  logical  mind, 
and  capable  of  the  most  impassioned  eloquence,  his  presentation  of  an 
argument  is  both  exhaustive  and  impressive  to  a  degree  that  borders  on  the 
marvelous.  His  power  over  a  jury  cannot  be  better  illustrated  than  by 
citing  the  fact,  that  criminals  whose  conviction  he  has  secured,  in  his 
capacity  as  State's  Attorney,  have  been  sometimes  awarded  new  trials 
partly  upon  the  ground — as  stated  by  the  court — that  the  eloquence  of 
the  prosecutor  had  an  undue  influence  upon  the  jury. 

Luther  Laflin  Mills  was  born  in  North  Adams,  Berkshire  county, 
Massachusetts,  September  3d,  1848,  and  is  consequently  only  thirty-two 
years  of  age.  When  only  two  years  old,  his  father  removed  to  Chicago, 
and  opened  the  dry  goods  house  which  so  long  bore  the  name  of  Mills 
&  Company.  Mr.  Mills  is,  therefore,  practically  a  Chicago  boy,  having 
received  his  early  education  in  her  public  schools,  and  been  trained  into 
manhood  amidst  the  spirit  of  her  enterprise  and  her  rapid  strides  to  her 
present  glory.  In  addition  to  attending  the  schools  of  the  city,  he  was 
a  student  at  the  Michigan  University,  afterwards  thoroughly  fitting  him- 
self for  his  profession  in  the  office  of  H.  N.  Hibbard.  Upon  being 
admitted  to  the  bar,  his  talents  and  industry  soon  commanded  unusual 
public  attention,  and  in  1876,  when  only  twenty-eight  years  old,  he  was 
nominated  on  the  Republican  ticket  for  the  office  of  State's  Attorney  for 
Cook  county,  and  was  elected  by  a  large  majority.  During  the  four  years 
that  followed  he  won  the  enviable  reputation  of  being  the  ablest  and 
most  efficient  State's  Attorney  that  the  county  ever  had,  securing  and  unin- 
terruptedly holding  the  confidence  of  the  substantial  part  of  the  community. 
One  of  the  local  papers  voiced  the  sentiment  of  the  people  in  the  state- 
ment that  "it  has  sometimes  seemed  to  us  that  with  his  great  powers, 
sturdy  honesty  and  convincing  eloquence,  he  was  the  only  bulwark 
against  such  a  flood  of  criminality  as  should  make  Chicago  uninhabitable." 

In  1880  he  was  again  nominated  to  the  office  which  for  one  term  he 
had  administered  with  such  extraordinary  success,  and  the  people  re-elected 
him  by  a  still  larger  majority  than  he  received  four  years  previous.  Mr. 
Mills  is  so  particularly  fitted  by  natural  endowments  for  a  position  of  this 
kind,  that  the  county  feels  a  sense  of  safety  which  few  other  men  in  the 
office  could  inspire,  and  doubtless  his  life  might  be  spent  in  this  great 
service  of  the  public,  if  he  should  so  desire,  and  if  there  were  not  other 
and  still  more  responsible  positions  which  demand  just  such  a  high  degree 
of  ability  as  he  possesses.  Men  of  his  character,  energy  and  talent  must 
expect  to  be  called  to  the  discharge  of  public  duties  in  the  very  widest 
fields  of  usefulness,  and,  depending  upon  life  and  health,  it  is  only  reason- 
able to  suppose  and  to  confidently  predict  that  Luther  Laflin  Mills  will 
achieve  in  the  future  successes  which  will  completely  shadow  even  the 
brilliant  record  which  he  has  already  made. 

On  the  fifteenth  of  November,  1876,  our  subject  was  married  to  Ella 


256  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

Boies,  the  accomplished  daughter  of  Joseph  M.  Boies,  of  Saugerties, 
New  York;  and  three  children  have  blessed  this  union.  In  his  home  and 
in  his  intercourse  with  friends  and  the  public  at  large,  Mr.  Mills  is  a  most 
genial  gentleman;  and  to  know  him  is  to  become  attached  to  him.  Neces- 
sarily his  duties  are  of  a  laborious  and  perplexing  nature,  and  although 
his  physical  strength  is  taxed  to  its  uttermost,  he  always  extends  a  pleasant 
greeting  to  all  who  approach  him,  and  at  his  own  fireside  is  as  if  the 
burdens  of  an  important  public  office  never  rested  upon  his  shoulders. 

In  politics  an  ardent  Republican,  his  eloquence  and  influence  have 
been  invaluable  to  his  party  in  all  the  campaigns  through  which  he  has 
passed  since  entering  political  life;  and  indeed  the  aggregate  of  his  merits 
may  be  concisely  embraced  in  the  statement  that  in  every  relation  of  life 
he  has  fulfilled  the  most  sanguine  expectation  of  his  friends,  and  per- 
formed all  the  duties  that  the  most  exacting  could  have  required  at  his 
hands. 


W^T   VcX^/f 


257 


:•       AREA  N.  WATERMAN. 

Of  all  the  professions  or  callings  in  which  men  engage,  the  profession 
of  law  is  the  most  arduous  and  exacting,  and  comparatively  few  possess 
either  the  strength  of  mind  or  the  power  of  physical  endurance  to  answer 
its  unrelenting  demands.  Confronted  with  opposition  skilled  in  the  science 
of  which  he  is  an  exponent,  and  with  courts  whose  function  it  is  to  dispute 
any  erroneous  position  which  he  may  assume,  or  incorrect  principle  which 
he  may  advance,  the  lawyer,  from  the  beginning  of  his  professional  experi- 
ence to  its  ending,  is  pre-eminently  engaged  in  a  hand  to  hand  conflict,  in 
which  superior  knowledge  and  unusual  skill  alone  can  achieve  success. 
Whether  advocate  or  counselor,  these  conditions  are  not  changed.  What- 
ever he  does  in  a  professional  capacity,  must  be  done  with  a  distinct  view 
to  possible  and  probable  professional  review  and  judicial  scrutiny. 

To  meet  such  requirements  calls  into  the  fullest  activity  every  faculty 
of  the  mind,  and  keeps  it  strained  to  a  limit  beyond  which  nature  positively 
forbids  the  slightest  advance.  Success  in  the  profession  of  law  presupposes 
an  absolute  consecration  of  all  that  there  is  of  its  devotee,  and  unerringly 
indicates  that  in  natural  ability  he  is  superior  to  the  average  of  mankind. 

Except  that  the  result  of  such  exhaustive  mental  and  physical  labor 
as  the  successful  practice  of  the  law  extorts,  were  a  reward  which  is  the 
most  desirable  that  can  be  bestowed,  failures  would  be  even  more  common 
in  the  profession  than  they  are  now.  But  from  his  pathway  of  professional 
success,  almost  every  avenue  to  usefulness  and  fame  opens  to  the  lawyer, 
and  it  is  his  option  to  enter  them  or  not.  From  his  office  to  the  bench, 
the  halls  of  science,  the  retreats  of  literature,  or  the  active  duties  and  respon- 
sibilities of  statesmanship,  is  an  easy  and  legitimate  step,  and  in  either,  or 
any  sphere  of  usefulness  his  finely  trained  mind  constitutes  him  a  light  and 
a  leader. 

While  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  with  the  exception  of  indulging 
his  literary  aspirations  to  some  extent,  holding  a  local  political  office  for  a 
time,  and  seeing  enough  of  military  service  to  prove  him  a  sterling  soldier, 
has  pursued  his  profession  with  a  steady  devotion  that  precluded  all 
thought  of  the  charms  of  other  paths  of  usefulness  which  were  open  to 
him,  his  success  as  a  lawyer  and  his  probable  future,  make  these  reflections 
eminently  proper  in  the  introduction  of  his  biography. 

Arba  N.  Waterman  is  the  son  of  Loving  F.  and)  Mary  Stevens 
Waterman,  and  was  born  at  Greensboro,  Orleans  county,  Vermont, 


25&  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

February  5th,  1836.  His  father  was  a  prosperous  and  successful  mer- 
chant, and  one  of  those  well  informed,  energetic  and  capable  business 
men,  who  are  a  natural  product  of  New  England  surroundings,  and  the 
son  had  the  advantage  of  inheriting  traits  of  character  which  are  indis- 
pensable to  success  in  life. 

The  boyhood  of  Colonel  Waterman  was  spent  in  Vermont,  and  his 
education  obtained  at  the  Academies  in  Johnson  and  Montpelier,  and  at  the 
Norwich  University,  in  his  native  State.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  years, 
however,  he  was  thrown  upon  his  own  resources,  and  went  to  Frank- 
lin county,  Georgia,  where  he  supported  himself  by  teaching  in  an 
academy.  When  nineteen  he  came  to  Illinois,  teaching  in  the  Winter 
of  1855-6  at  Gooding's  Grove,  in  Will  county,  and  thereafter  studied 
law  at  Joliet  with  G.  A.  D.  Parker.  In  1857  ^e  went  to  Kansas  with 
the  intention  of  making  that  State  his  future  home,  but  being  recalled 
from  there  in  the  Summer  of  1857  by  the  death  of  his  father,  he  returned 
to  Vermont  where,  for  more  than  a  year,  he  devoted  himself  to  settling 
his  father's  estate,  and  reading  law  with  Stoddard  B.  Colby  of  Montpelier. 
After  going  through  the  course  at  the  Law  School  at  Albany,  New 
York,  he  returned  to  Joliet  and  commenced  the  practice  of  law.  Soon 
after  coming  to  Illinois  he  became  imbued  with  anti-slavery  convictions 
of  the  most  pronounced  type,  and  entered  with  all  the  enthusiasm  and 
ardor  of  youth,  and  of  one  who  felt  the  iniquity  and  disgrace  of  a  system 
by  which  men  were  denied  the  fruit  of  their  toil,  into  the  advocacy  of 
universal  freedom  in  the  United  States. 

At  the  time  of  the  first  battle  of  Bull  Run  he  was  in  Washington, 
where  the  want  of  system,  order  and  foresight,  with  the  confusion  and 
disorder  in  the  conduct  of  affairs,  filled  him  not  merely  with  indignation, 
but  with  deeper  convictions  of  the  terrible  conflict  through  which  the 
nation  had  to  pass  before  the  iniquity  of  so  many  generations  could 
be  wiped  out.  Returning  to  Illinois  he  at  once  made  arrangements  for 
entering  the  army,  but  being  prostrated  by  a  severe  illness  he  was  obliged 
to  forego  his  purpose.  In  1862  the  reverses  of  our  army  on  the  peninsula 
seemed  to  him  a  summons  to  every  man  who  could  bear  arms,  and  he 
at  once  enlisted  and  commenced  to  recruit  soldiers  in  the  county  of  Will, 
where  he  had  become  well  known.  The  company  he  recruited  grew  to 
a  regiment,  and  he  was  unanimously  chosen  its  lieutenant  colonel  and 
went  to  the  front.  In  the  Winter  of  1862-3  being  at  Louisville,  Ken- 
tucky, he  was  placed  in  command  of  a  hastily  improvised  force  of  some 
two  thousand  men  and  sent  into  the  field  to  intercept  Morgan,  then  rapidly 
advancing  upon  Louisville.  Relieved  of  this  duty  he  was  placed  in  charge 
of  a  steamboat  containing  one  hundred  tons  of  ammunition  and  ordered  to 
take  the  same  to  Nashville,  which  he  did.  Rejoining  his  regiment  at 
Murfreesborough,  Tennessee,  he  participated  with  it  in  the  battle  of 
Chicamauga,  where,  after  having  his  horse  killed  under  him,  he  was  him- 
self shot  through  the  right  arm  and  in  the  side.  He  participated  in  other 
battles  about  that  time,  always  displaying  a  commendable  courage.  While 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 


259 


with  his  regiment  in  the  Atlanta  campaign,  severe  illness  compelled  his 
resignation  from  the  service,  and  he  returned  to  the  State  whose  soldiers 
he  had  led  in  the  battle,  and  to  whose  fair  name  he  had  added  additional 
luster. 

Coming  to  Chicago  in  1865,  he  at  once  began  the  practice  of  law,  and 
the  success  that  he  has  achieved  is  witnessed  by  the  character  of  the  litiga- 
tion in  which  he  is  employed,  and  by  his  standing  in  the  profession.  He 
has  had  the  management  of  some  of  the  most  important  and  intricate 
cases  ever  tried  in  any  of  the  courts  in  the  country,  and  during  the  nineteen 
years  of  his  practice  he  has  never,  it  is  said,  lost  a  case  of  large  magnitude. 
The  immediate  cause  of  his  success  in  the  conduct  and  trial  of  causes  is  the 
conscientious  care  which  he  bestows  upon  their  preparation.  The  late 
Ira  Harris,  of  New  York,  was  accustomed  to  say  to  his  students: 
"When  you  enter  a  court  room  for  the  trial  of  a  cause,  be  able  to  say 
that  you  know  more  about  the  case,  both  as  to  facts  and  law,  than  any 
one  else  on  earth."  This  principle  Colonel  Waterman  has  adopted, 
and  it  has  often  led  him  to  achieve  victory  which,  although  legitimate,  was 
so  obscured  by  the  complication  of  facts  and  the  intricacy  of  legal  princi- 
ples, that  its  achievement  seemed  improbable  to  all  except  the  studious 
mind  which  had  penetrated  the  cloud. 

In  politics  Colonel  Waterman  is  an  ardent  republican,  but  as  already 
stated,  has  thus  far  in  life  been  so  wedded  to  his  profession  that  he  has 
given  little  attention  to  such  matters,  except  to  do  what  he  might,  outside  of 
his  own  political  promotion,  to  advance  the  interests  of  his  party.  From  1875 
to  1877  he  was  a  member  of  the  City  Council,  discharging  his  duties  faith- 
fully and  to  the  satisfaction  of  his  constituency.  This  is  the  only  political 
office  he  ever  held,  although  his  name  has  been  somewhat  prominently 
mentioned  in  connection  with  Congress  and  the  bench. 

The  literary  taste  and  culture  of  Colonel  Waterman  are  among  his 
most  conspicuous  characteristics,  and  have  made  him  an  important 
element  in  the  ripening  refinement  of  the  community.  Prominently  con- 
nected with  the  Chicago  Philosophical  Society — whose  name  indicates  its 
character — and  with  the  Irving  Club,  a  literary  society  of  high  excellence 
and  commanding  influence,  he  not  only  has  an  opportunity  to  gratify  his  love 
of  literature,  but  is  possessed  of  fine  facilities  for  promoting  literary  culture. 
While  he  would  not  claim  it  himself,  it  is  nevertheless  a  recognized  fact, 
that  to  him  both  the  Philosophical  Society  and  the  Irving  Club  owe  much 
of  their  prosperity  and  influence. 

In  his  private  and  domestic  life  Colonel  Waterman  is  a  kind,  genial 
and  exemplary  gentleman.  Married  at  Chicago,  December  i6th,  1862, 
to  Ella  Hall,  a  most  estimable  and  accomplished  lady,  his  home  is  one 
of  refinement  and  happiness,  precisely  what  we  should  picture  as  the 
home  of  a  man  of  culture  and  progress.  Still  young,  ambitious  to  excel 
in  all  that  is  ennobling  to  character,  surrounded  by  the  most  encouraging 
conditions,  and  with  a  successful  past  for  a  foundation,  life  and  health  are 
the  only  requisites  to  insure  Colonel  Waterman  a  brilliant  and  useful  future. 


260 


CONSIDER  H.   WILLETT. 


"Enough  of  idle  words: 

Let  hands,  not  tongues,  show  what  we  are." — OVID. 

The  ancestral  biography  is  classical  in  brevity ;  "the  short  and  simple  annals  of 
the  poor." 

Consider  Heath  Willett  was  born  in  Onondaga,  New  York,  Decem- 
ber I2th,  1840,  being  the  only  son  of  William  Jr.  and  Tryphosa  Jackson 
Willett.  The  father  was  born,  lived  and  died  on  the  clearing  made  by 
his  father — a  farm  nestling  among  the  beautiful  hills  and  lakes  of  Central 
New  York.  The  trees,  fruits,  vegetable  productions,  soils,  geological 
formations,  animals,  wild  and  domestic,  and  occupations  surrounding  our 
subject's  birth  were  so  varied  as  to  embrace  nearly  all  found  in  the  North. 
These  early  awakened  his  attention,  made  him  an  accurate  student  of 
mankind  from  an  intimate  knowledge  of  individuals,  and  taught  him 
natural  science  from  nature's  book. 

He  inherited  the  parental  characteristics,  the  leading  traits  of  his 
father's  character  being  integrity,  moral  courage  and  an  unswerving 
devotion  to  conviction.  His  mother  was  a  genius  of  industry,  crowning 
what  her  hands  wrought  with  beauty  and  utility. 

Fate,  with  stern  decree,  shaped  the  rule  of  his  young  life.  The 
death  of  his  father — who  was  all  that  seemed  perfect  to  his  child-mind^ 
brought  the  blight  of  a  great  sorrow,  and  early  matured  his  manhoocL 
Fatherless  at  eleven,  two  years  later,  through  a  misunderstanding  with 
his  step-father,  he  found  himself  afloat  upon  the  sea  of  life.  From  this 
time  on  he  always  supported  himself,  though  his  mother,  at  a  sacrifice, 
aided  him  in  obtaining  a  higher  education.  His  hands  were  taught  how 
to  use  tools,  and  he  excelled  in  various  kinds  of  manual  labor,  which 
he  sought  for  the  purpose  of  earning  means  to  accomplish  self-education. 
He  worked  for  several  farmers,  in  a  sawmill,  as  a  house  painter,  in  a 
country  store  and  in  a  postofHce.  In  these  varied  industries  he  became 
an  apt  pupil  in  the  people's  college  of  toil.  These  early  hardships  have 
always  placed  him  in  close  sympathy  with  the  laboring  classes. 

Always  a  student,  always  a  lover  of  books,  he  applied  himself  to 
study  with  that  devotion  to  duty  which  has  distinguished  his  whole  life. 
We  find  him  at  Onondaga  and  Cortlandville  academies;  also  taking 
a  special  course  in  higher  mathematics,  as  a  private  pupil  of  Professor 
H.  N.  Robinson,  at  Elbridge,  New  York;  and  graduating  at  the  New 
York  State  Normal  School,  at  Albany,  in  1862.  Upon  graduating  from 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  261 

this  institution,  he  immediately  volunteered  as  a  private — when  Antietam 
beckoned  to  the  bloody  field — in  Company  E,  organized  from  the  graduates 
of  his  school,  and  attached  to  the  Forty-fourth  New  York  Infantry,  Army 
of  the  Potomac.  He  became  orderly  sergeant  by  vote  of  his  comrades. 
Being  twice  "jumped"  for  promotion  because  of  political  Democratic 
intrigues,  he  at  length  obtained  a  furlough  for  the  purpose  of  going  before 
the  Military  Board  at  Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  of  which 
Major-General  Silas  Casey  was  president,  to  be  examined  for  promotion 
in  the  colored  troops.  As  the  result  of  the  severe  examination  for  which 
this  board  became  famous,  Sergeant  Willett  was  in  August,  1863,  com- 
missioned Captain  of  Company  G,  Second  United  States  Colored  Infantry, 
ranking  with  regular  army  officers.  He  held  this  rank  until  after  the 
war,  when  having  the  yellow  fever  at  Fort  Taylor,  Key  West,  Florida, 
ill-health  caused  him  to  resign  his  commission  in  September,  1865. 

Our  soldier  was  in  every  engagement  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac 
while  in  that  army,  including  the  memorable  battles  of  Fredericksburg, 
Chancellorville  and  Gettysburg.  As  one  incident  of  his  experience,  on 
the  second  day  of  July,  1863,  at  Gettysburg,  he  in  charge  of  a  volunteer 
skirmishing  squad*of  four  men,  in  the  woods  between  and  in  front  of  Little 
and  Big  Round  Top,  captured  ninety-six  prisoners  of  war.  He  took 
with  his  own  hands  three  swords  and  one  revolver  from  the  Fifth  Texas 
Confederate  Infantry.  -These  ninety-six  prisoners  were  captured  at  a  time 
when  the  official  records  show  only  two  hundred  and  ninety-one  prisoners 
of  war  were  captured  by  the  entire  army.  This  was  a  brave  achieve- 
ment, in  which  fear  stood  still  and  courage  was  the  master  spirit.  At 
night,  amid  the  groans  of  the  wounded  and  dying,  in  command  of  the 
detail  to  bury  the  dead,  more  than  forty  tried  friends  were  buried  in  one 
common  grave.  Rebel  musketry  fired  their  salute,  and  the  stars  of  heaven 
lighted  them  to  their  eternal  home. 

The  department  of  the  Gulf  and  the  west  coast  of  Florida  became 
the  field  ;of  his  operations.  He  commanded  several  posts  established  to 
assist  the  navy  and  to  help  the  refugees  and  Crackers  to  escape  from  the 
rebel  lines.  He  captured  three  blockade  runners,  and  was  in  several 
small  engagements.  In  one,  at  St.  Mark's  Lighthouse,  he  captured 
a  twelve  pound  brass  cannon.  During  all  his  Florida  service  the  rebel 
army  boasted  of  having  orders  to  take  no  colored  soldiers  or  white  officers 
who  commanded  in  a  colored  regiment  alive  as  prisoners  of  war,  but  to 
kill  them  at  sight,  without  quarter. 

While  in  the  army,  our  hero  divided  his  time  equally  between  his 
military  duties,  the  study  of  every  published  work  on  military  science 
and  reading  Blacks  tone  and  Kent.  Leaving  the  army,  he  attended  for 
a  term  medical  lectures  at  the  Bellevue  Medical  Hospital  College,  in 
New  York  city.  He  then  entered  the  Albany  Law  School,  and  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  at  Albany,  in  April,  1866.  Still  further  pursuing  his 
law  studies,  he  graduated  at  the  Alichigan  University  Law  School,  in 
1867.  Having  practiced  law  in  Syracuse,  New  York,  for  a  time,  he 


262  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

located  in  Chicago  in  June,  1867.  His  merits  as  a  man  and  a  lawyer  soon 
attracted  attention,  and  his  success  was  early  assured.  While  on  the 
threshold  of  success,  misfortune's  wave  swept  over  him,  as  it  did 
thousands  of  others,  in  the  fire  of  October  Sth,  1871.  His  papers,  library 
and  business  became  a  smouldering  ruin.  But  amidst  the  general  desola- 
tion, while  the  hot  smoke  was  yet  rolling  over  our  stricken  city,  he  was 
among  the  first  to  rally  in  business.  October  eleventh  found  him  coun- 
seling with  his  clients  at  Dr.  F.  M.  Wilder's  office  on  Twenty-second 
street.  All  he  had  left  was  an  abiding  and  unbounded  faith  in  the 
rebuilding  and  future  prosperity  of  Chicago.  Then  came  the  struggle 
for  clear  life.  Unprepared  for  the  emergency,  a  brief  in  type  of  an  important 
case  in  the  Supreme  Court*  having  been  burned,  he  obtained  a  pass  to 
Ottawa,  and  was  the  first  lawyer  from  Chicago  to  tell  the  Court  of  the 
fearful  dangers  past,  and  for  want  of  money  slept  in  a  chair  in  the  office 
of  the  Clifton  House.  He  won  his  case,  and  soon  obtained  a  footing  out 
of  the  "Slough  of  Despond." 

In  April,  1875,  Mr.  Willett  was  appointed  Village  Attorney  of  Hyde 
Park,  Cook  county,  Illinois,  and  re-appointed  in  1876  and  also  in  1877. 
He  published  the  ordinances  of  Hyde  Park,  an  original  work  of  four 
hundred  pages.  In  January,  1879,  he  was  appointed  to  the  responsible 
position  of  County  Attorney  for  Cook  county,  and  he  has  been  twice 
re-appointed — in  1880  and  1881 — which  place  he  now  holds.  He  has 
discharged  the  arduous  and  often  perplexing  duties  of  this  position  with 
great  success,  and  has  earned  the  gratitude  of  the  people  by  his  efficiency 
and  fidelity  in  the  defense  of  their  rights.  In  an  official  capacity  he  has 
always  met  the  expectations  of  the  most  exacting,  and  discharged  the 
most  delicate  and  difficult  duties  with  such  signal  ability  and  tact,  as  not 
only  to  best  conserve  the  public  interests,  but  to  satisfy  even  the  captious. 
Always  deliberate  in  reaching  conclusions,  the  pressure  which  so  often  is 
exerted  to  influence  the  judgment  of  public  officers,  never  disturbs  the 
logical  reasonings  through  which  he  arrives  at  results,  and  never  moves 
him  from  a  rigid  exactness  in  the  administration  of  any  public  trust  which 
has  been  placed  in  his  keeping.  It  is  seldom  that  a  man  so  exactly  fitted 
for  the  excitements  surrounding  public  position,  and  of  such  an  even 
temperament  under  all  the  varying  circumstances  of  official  life,  is  met 
with;  and  it  is  not  surprising  that  Mr.  Willett  should  have  attracted 
to  himself  the  attention  of  many  of  those  who  have  seen  in  his  public 
and  private  life  the  elements  of  extreme  usefulness  on  the  bench. f 

*White  vs.  Herman  51  Illinois,  243. 

fThe  quietness  and  usefulness  of  his  official  sagacity  are  well  illustrated  in  the  case 
of  People  ex  rel.  Shaack  vs.  Brayton,  94  Illinois,  341.  The  statutes  provided  a  way  to 
consolidate  the  towns  of  South,  West  and  North  Chicago,  and  the  public  and  press 
demanded  it.  Under  a  statute  the  county  authorities  at  the  request  of  the  city  authori- 
ties, created  the  new  town  of  Chicago.  The  legality  of  these  proceedings  was  doubted, 
but  the  question  was  how  to  make  a  case  till  after  the  election  of  officers  for  the  new 
town.  After  such  election,  if  illegal,  all  assessments  and  taxes  in  two  of  the  old  towns 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  263 

Mr.  Willett's  legal  business  has  been  varied,  embracing  the  entire 
circuit  of  criminal  and  civil  jurisprudence.  He  now  confines  himself  to 
civil  practice,  paying  particular  attention  to  constitutional,  corporation, 
equity  and  real  estate  questions.  He  stands  in  the  front  rank  of  his  pro- 
fession, being  a  skillful  and  fearless  leader.  He  is  prominent  in  political, 
social  and  fraternal  organizations.  Frank  and  outspoken  to  bluntness,  he 
is  an  exposer  of  fraud  and  duplicity  in  every  form.  "Modest,  firm,  simple 
and  self  poised,  his  fame  shall  be  earned  not  alone  by  things  written  and 
said,  but  by  the  arduous  greatness  of  things  done."  Like  the  tree  just  com- 
mencing to  bear  fruit,  the  years  of  his  future  shall  be  rich  in  his  nobler 
and  greater  achievements. 

would  be  absolutely  void,  because  the  assessor  of  the  new  town  would  be  merely  a 
de  facto  officer  in  the  old  town  where  he  resided.  All  the  legal  talent  of  Chicago 
failed  to  find  any  way  of  averting  the  catastrophe;  yet,  like  all  great  undertakings, 
a  way  as  simple  as  the  discovery  of  America  by  Columbus  was  found  by  County 
Attorney  Willett.  Its  simplicity,  however,  cannot  detract  from  the  ingenuity  which 
conceived  such  practical  results.  He  had  Frank  Shaack,  a  citizen  of  West  Chicago, 
go  before  a  Justice  of  the  Peace,  H.  B.  Brayton,  in  South  Chicago,  to  acknowledge 
a  chattel  mortgage,  and  the  justice  refused  to  take  the  acknowledgment  on  the  ground 
that  the  towns  had  not  been  consolidated  and  the  instrument  must  be  acknowledged 
in  the  town  where  the  mortgagor  resided.  A  petition  for  a  mandamus  was  then  filed 
in  the  Supreme  Court,  to  compel  the  justice  to  acknowledge  the  chattel  mortgage  and 
the  court  deciding  the  case  promptly  before  the  election,  held  the  towns  were  not  con- 
solidated. The  assessment  at  this  time,  1880,  was  for  South  Chicago,  $41,678,440; 
West  Chicago,  $34.883,888,  and  North  Chicago,  $12,494,009;  and  the  taxes  were,  South 
Chicago,  $2,063,326;  West  Chicago,  $1,729,663,  and  North  Chicago,  $675,728.  And 
these  figures  alone  represent  the  importance  of  this  case. 


264 


WILLIAM  C.  GRANT. 


"William  C.  Grant,  one  of  the  representative  prominent  members 
of  the  Cook  county  bar,  was  born  in  Lyme,  New  Hampshire,  October 
8th,  1829,  and  is  the  son  of  Peter  Grant  and  Dolly  Ware.  His  pater- 
nal grandfather's  name  was  John  Grant,  a  descendant  of  Matthew  Grant, 
who  was  originally  settled  at  Dorchester,  Massachusetts,  but  afterward 
moved  to  Windsor,  Connecticut,  and  later  to  Lyme,  in  the  same  State. 
From  here,  he  and  others,  went  to  New  Hampshire,  settling  where  the 
town  of  Lyme  is  now  located  naming  the  place  after  their  old  home 
in  Connecticut.  Peter  Grant,  the  father  of  our  subject,  was  born  in  the 
town  which  his  father  thus  helped  to  settle  and  designate.  Dolly  Ware 
was  the  daughter  of  Joseph  Ware,  and  was  born  and  reared  at  Thetford, 
Vermont,  the  location  of  the  early  and  somewhat  famous  academy,  called 
Thetford  Hill  Academy,  and  which  was  situated  on  the  east  side  of  the 
Connecticut  river,  opposite  Lyme. 

Peter  Grant,  with  his  family,  consisting  of  his  wife,  William  C.,  and 
a  daughter,  now  the  wife  of  Philip  L.  Moen,  of  Worcester,  Massachu- 
setts, removed,  when  our  subject  was  about  two  years  of  age,  from  Lyme 
to  Troy,  Vermont,  where  the  father  died  in  about  four  years.  Six  years 
later  the  widow  married  Raymond  Hale,  and  soon  after  removed  with 
her  husband  and  children  to  Chelsea,  Vermont,  where  William  worked 
on  the  farm  in  Summer  and  attended  the  village  school  in  Winter,  and 
the  high  school  in  the  Spring  and  Autumn.  When  only  sixteen  years 
old,  however,  he  began  teaching  a  district  school,  and  subsequently  earned 
sufficient  money  to  support  himself  at  Thetford  Hill  Academy,  in  prepara- 
tion for  college.  At  this  time,  and  for  many  years  afterward,  Hiram 
Orcutt  was  the  principal  of  this  institution,  and  maintained  a  flourishing 
school  of  over  two  hundred  scholars. 

In  1847,  having  made  suitable  preparation,  William  entered  Dart- 
mouth College,  at  Hanover,  New  Hampshire,  maintaining  himself,  almost 
unaided,  by  teaching,  and  graduating  with  the  class  of  1851,  with  an 
election  to  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society,  or  among  the  first  third  of  the  class. 
Immediately  upon  graduating  he  was  offered  and  accepted  the  principal- 
ship  of  Andover  Academy,  Andover,  New  Hampshire,  which  position 
he  successfully  filled  until  the  close  of  the  Spring  term  of  1852,  when  he 
was  elected  the  first  principal  of  the  Howe  School,  an  institution  founded 
and  endowed  by  the  late  Dr.  Zadock  Howe,  at  Billerica,  near  Lowell, 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  265 

Massachusetts.  He  remained  in  charge  of  this  institution  as  principal 
until  the  close  of  the  Summer  term  of  1855,  when  he  resigned  to  devote 
himself  solely  to  the  study  of  the  law,  to  which  he  had  already  given 
much  attention  all  through  his  career  as  a  teacher.  Entering  the  office 
of  the  late  Judge  William  B.  Hebard,  of  Chelsea,  Vermont,  he  applied 
himself  diligently  to  the  work  in  hand,  and  at  the  expiration  of  one  year 
was  admitted  to  the  Vermont  bar.  Thoroughness  in  whatever  he  under- 
took, however,  being  an  early  distinguishing  feature  of  his  character,  he 
entered  the  Dane  Law  School  in  September,  1856,  where  he  remained 
for  two  terms,  and  in  the  Spring  of  1857  removed  to  Chicago,  to  engage 
in  the  practice  of  his  profession.  Upon  his  arrival  in  Chicago  he  was 
introduced  to  the  firm  of  Williams  &  Woodbridge,  whose  office  he 
entered  for  the  purpose  of  familiarizing  himself  with  the  local  law  and 
practice.  This  purpose  having  been  accomplished,  he  opened  an  office 
and  commenced  practice  for  himself  about  the  first  of  June,  1857,  con- 
tinuing alone  about  two  months,  when  Messrs.  Williams  &  Woodbridge 
proposed  a  partnership,  and  the  firm  became  Williams,  Woodbridge  & 
Grant,  composed  of  Erastus  S.  Williams,  John  Woodbridge  and  W.  C. 
Grant.  This  business  arrangement  continued  without  change  until  June, 
1863,  when  Mr.  Williams  was  elected  Judge  of  the  Circuit  Court  of 
Cook  county,  and  the  firm  became  Woodbridge  &  Grant,  so  continuing 
until  May,  1867,  when  Mr.  Woodbridge  having  been  appointed  Master 
in  Chancery  of  Cook  county,  the  firm  of  Woodbridge  &  Grant  was  dis- 
solved, and  Mr.  Grant  continued  in  the  practice  alone  until  May  ist,  1871, 
when,  having  become  overburdened  with  business,  particularly  as  attorney 
for  the  State  Savings  Institution,  the  Mutual  Life  Insurance  Company 
of  Chicago  and  other  corporations,  he  associated  with  himself  his  present 
partner,  William  H.  Swift,  the  firm  becoming  Grant  &  Swift,  under 
which  name  the  successful  business  previously  established  continued  until 
May,  1880,  when  this  firm  associated  with  them  Matthew  P.  Brady,  as 
a  junior  partner,  and  the  firm  name  became  Grant,  Swift  &  Brady,  and 
still  continues  the  same.  Their  business  thus  built  up  is  largely  real 
estate,  and  chancery  combined  with  corporate  and  general  commercial 
business.  The  firm  stands  very  high  both  in  professional  circles  and  with 
"the  public  at  large. 

Mr.  Grant  was  married  at  Chicago,  in  1861,  to  Jennie  A.  McCallum, 
daughter  of  the  late  Mrs.  R.  M.  Seymour,  formerly  of  Binghamton, 
New  York,  but  for  many  years  before  her  death  a  resident  of  Chicago. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Grant  have  two  children,  both  sons,  aged  respectively 
sixteen  and  eighteen  years,  and  members  of  the  Harvard  School,  where 
they  are  preparing  for  college. 

Personally  Mr.  Grant  is  a  most  amiable  gentleman,  and  his  mildness 
of  manner  in  social  intercourse,  almost  totally  obscures  the  determined  will 
and  unflagging  perseverance  which  this  brief  sketch  of  his  life  so 
plainly  indicates,  and  which  are  the  distinguishing  traits  of  his  character. 
Generous,  charitable  and  companionable,  he  is  yet  a  man  of  deep  convic- 


266  CHICAGO  AND  ITS   DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

tions  and  of  fearless  execution  in  the  path  of  conceived  duty.  Naturally 
possessed  of  a  taste  for  knowledge  and  the  beautiful,  his  successful  and 
lucrative  practice  has  enabled  him  to  surround  himself  with  means  for 
its  gratification  and  development,  and  his  mind  has  become  that  well 
filled  repository  of  general  information  and  refined  thought  which  attracts 
to  him  the  intellectual  and  the  pure.  In  the  great  conflagration  of  1871, 
he  not  only  suffered  the  loss  of  a  large  law  library  and  household  furni- 
ture, but  the  paintings  and  valuable  miscellaneous  library  which  his 
judicious  taste  had  for  years  been  selecting.  Nothing  daunted,  however, 
his  courageous  nature  prompted  to:  the  immediate  work  of  repair,  and 
he  soon  began  to  replace  and  add  to  the  destroyed  treasures.  His  inclina- 
tions are  wholly  in  the  line  of  his  profession  and  in  the  gratification 
of  his  intellectual  and  artistic  tastes.  He  has  always  refused,  therefore, 
to  entertain  the  idea  of  holding  public  office.  A  staunch  and  lifelong  Re- 
publican, he  has  frequently  been  solicited  by  those  of  that  political  faith  for 
permission  to  use  his  name  in  connection  with  official  position,  especially 
for  the  office  of  judge  of  one  of  the  courts,  but  his  aversion  to  holding 
public  office,  and  to  the  usual  methods  of  gaining  them,  could  not  be 
overcome.  He  is  entirely  too  frank  and  upright  to  make  even  an  indiffer- 
ent politician.  In  those  walks  of  life  in  which  intelligence,  integrity, 
honor  and  manliness  are  regarded  for  what  they  are  worth,  Mr.  Grant  is 
fitted  to  excel,  and  by  the  practice  of  these  virtues  he  has  achieved  an 
honorable  and  influential  position  in  the  community  and  is  esteemed  by 
all  who  know  him,  either  personally  or  by  reputation. 


367 


ROBERT  S.  WILSON. 

Among  the  old  settlers,  those  who  bore  the  brunt  of  the  early  battles 
of  our  city  against  the  siege  of  adversity  which  besets  the  infancy  of 
a  community,  Robert  S.  Wilson  holds  a  conspicuous  position  and  enjoys 
an  enviable  fame.  His  advent  in  Chicago  was  at  a  time  when  there  was 
much  to  do  in  laying  a  foundation  for  the  present  and  future  greatness 
and  glory  of  the  metropolis,  and  when  it  required  the  best  ability,  the 
grandest  of  character  and  the  staunchest  of  personal  energy  to  accomplish 
the  necessities  of  the  hour.  To  those  who  come  after  pioneers  and  pluck 
the  fruits  which  ripen  upon  the  trees  they  planted,  it  is  difficult  to  fully 
conceive  of  their  labor  and  devotion  when  barrenness,  complete  or  com- 
parative, frowned  where  now  beauty  adorns.  The  work  of  development 
under  such  circumstances,  partakes  so  largely  of  the  nature  of  sacrifices 
for  posterity,  that  it  distinguishes  the  faithful  citizen  as  a  patriot  and 
honest  friend  of  his  race,  and  although  he  may  live,  as  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  has,  to  behold  an  astonishing,  if  not  miraculous,  maturity  of  the 
harvest  from  the  sowing  in  which  he  participated,  it  is  exceptional  in 
the  history  of  the  world.  The  wildest  imagination,  thirty  years  ago, 
could  not  have  pictured  the  existence  in  1881  of  this  beautiful  city  of  the 
West.  Far  hence,  locked  in  the  bosom  of  the  yet  unborn  years,  the  glory 
and  power  that  now  make  the  spot  on  which  the  Indian  camped  but 
a  half  century  since,  famous  as  the  most  enterprising  and  prosperous 
community  in  our  vast  West,  and  one  of  the  grandest  in  the  world,  may 
have  faintly  appeared  to  the  far-seeing  minds  which  devised  the  firm 
foundations  of  the  elegant  structure,  but  so  early  a  realization  of  their 
hopes  and  expectations,  as  time  has  furnished,  could  not  have  been  antici- 
pated. Steadily,  however,  they  pressed  forward  with  the  important  and 
arduous  labor  of  pioneer  life.  They  marked  out  thoroughfares  for  others 
to  adorn  and  crowd;  they  planted  trees  that  posterity  might  rest  in  their 
shade;  they  cultivated  flowers  for  coming  generations  to  admire;  they 
chased  the  wolf  and  coaxed  the  Indian  from  what  was  to  be  the  home 
of  a  million  people  in  the  highest  state  of  civilization;  they  formulated 
laws,  established  government  and  administered  justice,  turning  rudeness 
into  beauty,  chaos  into  order,  and  supplanting  immorality  and  vice  with 
virtue  and  decency.  Many  of  them  dropped  out  of  line,  and  were 
tenderly  laid  away  forever,  in  the  very  midst  of  these  early  conflicts; 
others  lived  to  see  the  distinct,  and  increasing  brilliancy  of  the  rapidly 


268  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

developing  civilization,  and  still  others  have  survived  to  enjoy  the  full 
flush  of  the  noonday,  Judge  Wilson  being  of  the  small  number. 

Robert  S.  Wilson  was  born  at  Montrose,  in  Susquehanna  county, 
Pennsylvania,  November  6th,  1812.  His  parents,  Stephen  and  Annie 
Wilson,  were  the  first  settlers  of  Montrose,  whither  they  went  in  1799. 
At  that  time  there  was  no  house  within  six  miles  of  Montrose,  which 
afterward  became  and  still  is  the  county  seat.  The  father  of  our  subject 
was  a  farmer,  but  took  an  active  part  in  public  affairs,  being  prominent 
in  the  organization  of  Susquehanna  county.  After  residing  here  for  a  num- 
ber of  years,  the  family  removed  to  Bradford  county  in  the  same  State,, 
and  afterward  to  Allegany  county,  in  the  State  of  New  York.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Wilson  were  people  of  very  superior  character,  and  during  a  long 
life  enjoyed  such  confidence  of  neighbors  and  friends  as  spotless  integrity, 
industry  and  uprightness  alone  can  win.  The  father  died  at  the  age  of 
seventy- six  and  the  mother  at  the  age  of  ninety,  universally  respected  and 
deeply  loved  by  a  family  of  children  to  whom  they  had  been  most  tenderly 
devoted,  and  a  bright  example  of  the  purest  life.  Until  fifteen  years  old, 
Robert  spent  his  time  on  his  father's  farm,  and  in  attendance  upon  the 
district  schools.  At  this  age,  however,  he  entered  the  printing  office 
of  his  brother,  Samuel  C.,  who  was  publishing  the  ANGELICA  REPORTER, 
Angelica,  Allegany  county,  New  York.  Here  he  remained  for  three 
years,  learning  the  printing  business,  and  enjoying  the  facilities  for  acquir- 
ing an  education,  which  a  printing  office  so  abundantly  furnishes.  Leaving 
the  printer's  case,  he  began  the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of  George  Miles, 
then  District  Attorney  for  Allegany  county,  and  when  twenty-one  years 
old  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  entering  immediatelv  upon  and  continuing 
the  practice  of  his  profession  in  Allegany  county  until  March,  1836, 
when  he  removed  to  Ann  Arbor,  Michigan.  Here  he  was  very  soon 
elected  a  Justice  of  the  Peace,  and  in  the  Fall  of  1836  was  elected  Probate 
Judge  of  the  county.  He  was  also  a  member  of  the  State  Senate  of 
Michigan  in  1843-4,  anc^  was  a  delegate  to  the  convention  that  nominated 
James  K.  Polk  for  the  Presidency  of  the  United  States.  In  1850  he 
removed  from  Ann  Arbor  to  Chicago,  where  he  immediately  entered 
upon  the  practice  of  his  profession,  and  continued  in  active  practice  until 
March,  1853,  when  he  was  elected  Judge  of  the  Recorder's  Court  of  the 
city,  a  court  having  both  civil  and  criminal  jurisdiction.  In  March,  1858, 
he  was  re-elected  to  this  position,  and  served  on  this  bench  in  all  ten 
years.  As  a  judge,  Mr.  Wilson  was  eminently  successful,  and  'while 
carefully  guarding  the  rights  of  the  innocent — one  of  the  most  sacred 
duties  which  devolve  upon  a  court — he  was  severe  in  his  punishment  of 
crime,  which  at  the  time  Judge  Wilson  took  his  seat  upon  the  bench  was 
alarmingly  prevalent  in  the  city.  Naturally  possessed  of  the  kindest 
of  hearts,  and  feeling  deeply  for  the  fortunes  of  those  whom  the  law  had 
entrapped,  he  never  lost  sight  of  his  duty  to  the  public  or  failed  to  embrace 
his  opportunity  to  aid  in  laying  a  foundation  of  peace,  good  order  and 
morality  upon  which  Chicago  might  be  constructed.  In  the  faithful 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  269 

and  impartial  administration  of  justice,  he  sent  about  one  thousand  crim- 
inals to  the  penitentiary  during  his  term  of  office,  and  set  an  example 
which  it  is  hoped  the  judiciary  of  this  city  and  county  will  ever  follow. 
His  ability  as  a  judicial  officer  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  in  all 
the  ten  years  of  service  upon  the  bench,  only  thi'ee  of  his  decisions  were 
reversed  by  the  Supreme  Court.  At  the  close  of  his  second  term,  a  request 
that  he  should  be  a  candidate  for  re-election  was  numerously  signed  by 
prominent  citizens,  but  preferring  to  engage  in  private  pursuits,  he 
respectfully  declined. 

Judge  Wilson  is  married,  and  has  three  children,  two  sons  and 
a  daughter,  the  latter  living  in  Chicago  and  being  the  widow  of  the  late 
Postmaster  Gilmore,  herself  the  mother  of  five  children.  Mrs.  Gilmore 
is  a  woman  of  rare  intelligence  and  virtues,  and  is  widely  known  for  her 
kindness  of  heart,  charities  and  retiring  disposition. 

Judge  Wilson  was  the  youngest  of  nine  children,  seven  of  whom  are 
still  living.  His  brother,  Mason  S.  Wilson,  is  living  tit  the  age  of  eighty- 
three,  at  Montrose,  in  Pennsylvania,  and  is  now  the  oldest  living  settler 
of  that  place.  Another  brother,  Samuel  C.  Wilson,  lives  in  Allegany 
county,  New  York,  of  which  county  he  was  the  Surrogate  for  many 
years,  and  also  the  first  judge.  Still  another  brother,  Stephen  Wilson, 
lives  on  the  old  homestead  at  Belfast,  on  the  Genesee  river,  in  the  same 
county.  The  whole  family  enjoys  a  spotless  reputation  for  real  worth 
of  character,  and  Judge  Wilson,  in  a  long,  useful  and  successful  life  has 
buiTt  for  himself  a  monument  of  personal  integrity  and  uprightness  of 
character  which  will  stand  as  long  as  the  city  in  which  he  has  lived  for 
a  third  of  a  century,  and  whose  welfare  he  has  guarded  with  a  jealous 
care.  Firm  in  his  devotion  to  friends — of  whom  he  demands  a  like 
sincerity — high  minded,  and  too  independent  to  be  an  unquestioning  fol- 
lower of  the  partisan  dictates  of  even  the  political  party  with  which  he 
is  identified  and  from  which  he  has  received  political  honors,  he  has 
proven  himself  that  sincere,  honorable  and  straightforward  citizen  whom 
the  masses  love  to  honor. 


270 


SAMUEL  M.  MOORE. 

i 

Samuel  McClelland  Moore  is  a  native  of  Kentucky,  having  been 
born  in  Bourbon  county,  in  that  State,  August  2^dt  1821.  His  father, 
James  Moore,  was  a  farmer,  a  native  of  Rockbridge  county,  Virginia, 
and  his  mother,  whose  name  before  marriage  was  Margaret  McClure,  was 
a  native  of  Carlisle,  Pennsylvania.  There  were  five  children,  beside 
two  that  died  in  infancy,  Samuel  being  the  youngest  of  four  brothers, 
all  of  whom  except  himself,  became  farmers,  and  his  earlier  years 
were  spent  on  the  home  farm.  One  of  his  brothers,  James  M.  Moore,  died 
in  Kentucky,  over  fifteen  years  ago,  and  another,  John  P.  Moore, 
died  at  his  residence  near  Indianapolis,  Indiana,  in  August,  1875,  aged 
sixty-five  years.  William  A.  Moore,  the  Judge's  only  surviving  brother, 
is  an  extensive  farmer  in  Woodtbrd  county,'  Kentucky,  and  his  widowed 
sister,  Mrs.  Hall,  resides  on  a  farm  in  Nelson  county,  in  that  State.  The 
father  died  when  Samuel  was  an  infant,  and  the  latter  remained  on 
the  old  homestead,  working  on  the  farm  and  attending  school,  until  he 
was  sixteen  years  of  age,  when  he  entered  Miami  University,  at  Oxford, 
Ohio,  when  Dr.  R.  H.  Bishop,  who  at  that  time  was  acknowledged  to 
be  the  leading  educator  in  the  West,  was  its  President.  He  took  the 
regular  four  years  classical  course  of  study  in  that  institution,  graduating 
in  1841,  when  he  was  twenty  years  of  age.  Governor  Hardin,  of  Mis- 
souri, Reverend  Ben  Mills,  of  this  State,  Reverend  J.  M.  Bishop  and 
Dr.  G.  L.  Andrew,  of  Indiana,  Judge  A.  Paddock,  and  Honorable 
Samuel  Shellabarger,  of  Ohio,  were  among  his  classmates  in  the  Uni- 
versity. 

He  entered  the  law  office  of  Judge  James  R.  Curry,  at  Cynthiana, 
Harrison  county,  Kentucky,  and  after  several  months  of  diligent  study, 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  before  he  was  quite  twenty-one,  receiving  his 
professional  license  from  the  hands  of  Judges  Mason  Brown  and  Henry 
O.  Brown,  the  former  of  whom  was  the  father  of  Honorable  B.  Gratz 
Brown,  of  Missouri.  Shortly  after  being  admitted  to  the  bar  he  married 
Martha  Wilson,  a  daughter  of  Reverend  Robert  Wilson,  one  of  the 
earliest  Presbyterian  clergymen  in  Kentucky.  After  practicing  his  profes- 
sion for  over  two  years  at  Cynthiana,  he  removed  to  the  city  of  Covington, 
Kentucky,  where  he  opened  a  law  office,  and  subsequently,  to  use  his 
own  expression,  "1  was  weak  enough  to  turn  aside  from  my  professional 
practice  to  engage  in  the  unprofitable  business  of  publishing  and  editino- 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS   DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  271 

a  weekly  newspaper" — the  KENTUCKY  INTELLIGENCER,  a  Democratic 
journal,  which  he  conducted  for  two  years,  and  then  returned  to  the  law» 
first  forming  a  co-partnership  with  Herman  J.  Groesbeck,  and  afterward, 
on  the  death  of  the  latter,  with  J.  E.  Spillman,  who  afterward  abandoned 
the  legal  profession  for  the  pulpit. 

While  in  partnership  with  Mr.  Spillman,  Judge  Moore  was  elected 
to  the  Kentucky  legislature,  serving  one  term.  Among  those  who 
occupied  seats  in  that  body  at  that  time  were  some  of  the  ablest  men  of 
the  State,  such  men,  for  example,  as  J.  L.  Trimble,  J.  F.  Bullett,  Ben 
Hardin,  Tom  F.  Marshall  and  Judges  Robertson,  Boyd  and  George  R. 
McKee.  He  was  a  member  of  the  House  Judiciary  Committee,  and  was 
the  first  to  introduce  and  advocate  two  important  measures,  which, 
although  they  failed  of  passage  then,  became  laws  only  a  few  years  later, 
namely  a  bill  to  fix  ten  per  cent,  as  the  conventional  rate  of  interest,  and 
the  Homestead  Exemption  bill. 

Subsequently  he  formed  a  law  partnership,  at  Covington,  with  Judge 
French,  one  of  the  most  distinguished  lawyers  and  jurists  in  Kentucky. 
In  those  times,  he  took  an  active  part  in  current  political  movements, 
and  especially  during  that  exciting  period,  in  1854-5,  when  "Know 
Nothingism,"  so  called,  threatened  to  sweep  the  whole  country,  its  object 
being  virtually  to  disfranchise  citizens  of  foreign  birth.  He  was  one  of 
the  first  politicians  of  Kentucky  to  take  a  bold  position  against  this 
crusade,  which  he  did  at  a  great  public  meeting  at  Covington,  in  the  very 
incipiency  of  the  movement,  taking  the  ground  that,  to  invite  foreigners 
to  equal  citizenship  with  ourselves,  and  then,  after  they  have  accepted 
the  invitation  in  good  faith,  deny  them  the  rights  of  citizenship,  would 
be  not  only  dishonorable,  but  revolutionary  and  contrary  to  the  spirit  of 
our  government,  and  that,  furthermore,  all  secret  political  organizations 
are  hostile  to  the  very  principles  of  our  republican  form  of  government. 

Soon  after  the  death  of  his  law  partner,  Judge  French,  he  was 
nominated  for  the  office  of  Judge  of  the  Circuit,  embracing  the  five 
counties  which  have  their  political  centers  at  Covington  and  Newport. 
Just  previous  to  this  nomination,  which  was  during  the  Presidential 
campaign  in  1856,  he  had  been  designated  by  the  Democratic  Convention 
as  Assistant  Elector  for  Kentucky,  which  he  at  once  declined,  deeming 
the  office  of  Judge  too  sacred  in  its  duties  and  responsibilities  to  be 
dragged  into  the  rough  scramble  of  the  political  arena.  When  selected 
as  an  Assistant  Elector,  it  was  the  expectation  of  his  friends,  and  his  own 
intention,  to  "stump"  the  State  for  the  party  and  the  candidates  of  his 
choice,  but  when  he  was  announced  as  a  candidate  for  the  bench,  and 
that  too,  without  regard  to  party  politics,  he  felt  that  the  "eternal  fitness 
of  things"  demanded  that  he  should  retire  from  active  participation  in 
the  public  canvass,  and  accordingly  did  so.  He  was  elected  to  the  Judge- 
ship,  and  served  a  full  term  of  six  years,  at  the  end  of  which,  declining 
a  re-nomination,  he  determined  to  remove  to  Chicago. 

Accordingly  settling  up  his  affairs  in  Kentucky,  he  finally  transferred 


272  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

his  residence  to  this  city,  in  1865,  becoming  a  law  partner  of  B.  G.  Caul- 
field,  late  member  of  Congress  from  the  First  District  of  Illinois.  After 
practicing  his  profession  successfully,  until  1873,  he  was  elected  to  the 
bench  of  the  Superior  Court  for  the  term  of  six  years.  Shortly  before 
his  election,  Judge  Porter  of  that  court  died,  leaving  an  unexpired  term 
of  some  weeks.  Governor  Beveridge  appointed  Judge  Moore  to  fill  out 
the  term. 

Judge  Moore's  family  consists  of  his  wife  and  five  surviving  chil- 
dren. His  oldest  son — Robert  W.  Moore — who  had  been  admitted  to 
the  bar  and  was  a  very  promising  young  man,  died  over  eight  years  ago. 
His  oldest  daughter  is  the  wife  of  Reverend  R.  A.  Condit,  a  Presbyterian 
clergyman  now  of  Cedar  Rapids,  Iowa.  The  Judge  is  himself  a  very  de- 
voted Presbyterian,  and  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  he  is  a  truly  exemplary 
Christian  gentleman.  He  has  been  an  elder  in  the  Presbyterian  church 
for  over  twenty-five  years,  and  now  holds  that  office  in  the  Third  Presby- 
terian Church  of  this  city.  As  has  been  already  stated,  his  wife  is  the 
daughter  of  a  Presbyterian  clergyman,  and  is  in  full  and  cordial  sym- 
pathy with  her  husband's  religious  convictions  and  worship. 

As  a  Judge  on  the  bench,  it  can  be  said  with  entire  truth,  that  Judge 
Moore  was  "the  right  man  in  the  right  place."  He  is  eminently  a  fair 
man,  and  no  one  at  all  acquainted  with  his  judicial  career  either  in  Ken- 
tucky or  in  Chicago,  will  for  an  instant  doubt  his  earnest  purpose,  in  all 
cases  of  ruling  or  deciding  justly.  Judge  Moore  is  now  in  retirement. 


273 


THOMAS  DRUMMOND. 


Among  the  oldest  and  most  respected  members  of  the  judiciary  in 
the  State  of  Illinois,  is  Honorable  Thomas  Drummond.  His  name  for 
the  past  twenty-five  years  has  been  prominent  in  our  State.  His  history 
begins  with  the  early  years  of  the  present  century,  as  he  was  born  on  the 
sixteenth  of  October,  1809.  The  place  of  his  nativity  is  Bristol  Mills, 
Lincoln  county,  Maine,  where  his  grandfather,  a  native  of  Scotland,  had 
settled  some  time  prior  to  the  Revolutionary  War.  His  father,  Honorable 
James  Drummond,  had  been  both  a  farmer  and  a  seafaring  man.  He 
was  for  some  years  a  member  of  the  State  legislature.  His  death 
occurred  in  1837.  Mrs.  Drummond  was  a  daughter  of  Henry  Little, 
of  New  Castle,  Maine,  a  descendant  of  the  early  settlers  of  New  England. 
She  died  while  Thomas  was  very  young. 

The  township  of  Bristol,  in  which  the  family  resided,  is  a  peninsula, 
terminating  in  a  headland — Pemaquid  Point.  It  was  visited  by  the  early 
navigators,  and  a  temporary  settlement  was  made  there  in  the  beginning 
of  the  seventeenth  century.  Living  on  the  sea  coast,  and  in  the  midst 
of  marine  associations,  it  is  not  strange  that  with  these  surroundings,  the 
lad  should  wish  to  become  a  sailor,  as  his  father  had  been,  but  the  latter 
firmly  opposed  this  wish,  and  Thomas  yielded  obedience  to  parental 
authority,  although  he  never  lost  his  affection  for  the  sonorous  music  of 
the  waves,  and  the  ever-changing  beauties  that  render  the  ocean  so  at- 
tractive. His  love  for  the  sea  evinced  itself  in  after  life  by  the  peculiar 
interest  which  he  took  in  marine  law.  He  so  thoroughly  mastered  all 
legal  points  involved  in  that  branch  of  the  profession  that  a  decision  in 
admiralty  given  by  him  is  looked  upon  as  incontrovertible,  and  is  seldom 
appealed  from  or  reversed. 

His  early  education  was  received  at  the  village  schoolhouse  near  his 
home.  He  afterward  attended  various  academies  in  the  State — at  New 
Castle,  Monmouth,  Fanningham  and  Gorham — and  at  seventeen  years 
of  age,  entered  Bowdoin  College,  at  Brunswick,  Maine,  from  which  he 
graduated  after  the  usual  course,  being  then  twenty-one  years  old. 

He  immediately  went  to  Philadelphia,  and  began  the  study  of  law 
in  the  office  of  William  T.  Dwight,  a  son  of  President  Dwight,  of  Yale 
College.  This  gentleman  left  the  bar  the  following  year,  to  enter  the 
ministry,  and  Mr.  Drummond  continued  his  studies  with  Thomas  Brad- 
ford, Jr.,  until  March,  1833,  when  he  was  admitted  to  practice  at  the  bar. 


274  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

He  continued  in  his  profession  at  that  place  about  two  years.  In  May, 
1835,  attracted  by  the  opportunities  offered  by  the  far  West,  he  came 
to  Illinois,  and  established  a  law  office  at  Galena,  where  he  remained 
fifteen  years.  His  ability  soon  displayed  itself,  and  early  in  his  career 
he  was  acknowledged  to  be  a  lawyer  of  rare  attainments,  unflagging 
industry,  and  possessed  of  a  perseverance  that  admitted  ot  no  failure. 
From  his  accurate  knowledge  of  the  law,  and  his  thorough  and  conscien- 
tious manner  of  sustaining  his  clients'  interests,  many  important  cases 
were  placed  in  his  hands,  nearly  all  of  which  were  successfully  con- 
ducted. 

Upon  the  death  of  Judge  Pope,  in  February,  1850,  Mr.  Drummond 
was  appointed  by  General  Taylor  to  succeed  him  as  Judge  of  the  United 
States  District  Court  for  the  District  of  Illinois.  In  December,  1856,  he 
was  appointed  to  the  bench  .of  the  Circuit  Court,  which  position  he  has 
held  to  the  present  time. 

The  position  of  United  States  Judge  is  one  of  the  highest  that  can 
be  attained  by  an  American  citizen,  and  he  who  worthily  <ills  the  office 
is  entitled  to  more  than  an  ordinary  degree  of  .respect.  The  emoluments 
are  not  great,  but  the  place  is  one  of  high  honor  and  immense  responsi- 
bility. Judge  Drummond  has  filled  the  office  with  the  greatest  acceptability 
for  a  long  term  of  years,  and  has  thereby  won  the  unqualified  respect 
and  admiration  of  the  people  throughout  this  and  the  neighboring  States, 

In  the  days  of  the  Whig  party,  Judge  Drummond  was  an  advocate 
of  its  measures,  although  never  mingling  extensively  in  politics,  and  only 
once  accepted  a  political  office.  Upon  the  rise  of  the  Republican  party, 
he  transferred  his  connection  to  that.  He  was  a  member  of  the  House 
of  Representatives  during  the  term  of  1840-1,  but  has  since  then  per- 
sistently withheld  from  any  participation  in  political  life. 

In  the  performance  of  his  judicial  duties,  Judge  Drummond  is  patient, 
wise  and  faithful.  From  his  accurate  and  profound  knowledge  of  the 
law,  his  opinions  necessarily  carry  much  weight.  His  decisions,  while 
very  concise,  are  admirably  framed,  and  convey  precisely  the  meaning 
intended. 


275 


LYMAN  TRUMBULL. 

Lyman  Trumbull  was  born  at  Colchester,  Connecticut,  October 
J2th,  1813.  He  was  educated  at  Bacon  Academy,  in  Colchester,  one  of 
the  best  educational  institutions  of  the  kind  in  Ne.w  England.  When 
only  fifteen  years  of  age,  he  taught  the  district  school  of  the  village,  and 
when  twenty  years  old,  took  charge  of  an  academy  at  Greenville,  Georgia. 
For  some  years  he  superintended  this  institution  with  great  acceptability, 
meantime  studying  law,  which  profession  he  had  wisely  decided  to  enter. 
He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1837,  and  soon  removed  to  Illinois,  estab- 
lishing himself  at  Belleville,  St.  Clair  county.  He  engaged  actively  in 
his  profession,  and  very  early  rose  to  eminence  in  it.  In  1840  he  was 
nominated  and  elected  member  of  the  legislature  from  that  county,  and 
the  following  year  appointed  Secretary  of  the  State  of  Illinois.  In  1848, 
he  was  nominated  and  elected  one  of  the  Justices  of  the  State  Supreme 
Court,  and  in  1852,  re-elected  for  a  term  of  nine  years.  He  was  dis- 
tinguished for  his  keen  discernment,  accurate  judgment,  and  perfect 
acquaintance  with  organic  and  statute  law,  even  at  that  early  period  of 
his  career. 

In  1853,  Mr.  Trumbull  resigned  his  position,  and  the  next  year  was 
elected  to  represent  in  Congress  the  Belleville  District,  then  comprising 
a  large  extent  of  territory.  Before  taking  his  seat  in  the  House,  the 
legislature  elected  him  to  the  United  States  Senate,  for  a  term  of  six 

o  7 

years  from  March  4th,  1855.  These  successive  promotions,  occurring 
with  such  rapidity,  gave  evidence  of  unusual  ability  on  the  part  of  Mr. 
Trumbull,  and  showed  his  peculiar  fitness  for  the  duties  and  honors 
of  the  high  position  he  was  called  to  fill. 

The  first  term  of  Mr.  Trumbull's  senatorial  office  was  replete  with 
work  of  a  difficult  and  exciting  nature.  The  political  contest  attending 
the  passage  of  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law  and  the  organization  of  the  Terri- 
tories of  Kansas  and  Nebraska  was  necessarily  severe,  and  stirred  to  the 
depths  the  diverse  elements  of  the  nation.  At  this  time,  Mr.  Trumbull, 
who  had  formerly  been  a  member  of  the  Democratic  party,  joined  the 
cause  of  freedom  and  justice,  becoming  one  of  its  most  able  defenders. 
His  arguments  with  Mr.  Douglas  and  others  holding  like  views  in  regard 
to  slavery  were  so  pointed  and  forcible,  and  carried  such  weight  that  the 
whole  country  soon  became  awakened  to  the  consideration  of  that 
momentous  subject.  In  1860,  Mr.  Trumbull's  reputation  having  become 


276  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

a  national  one,  his  name  met  with  frequent  mention  in  connection  with 
the  Republican  candidacy  for  President.  He  gave  no  encouragement  to 
this  movement,  but  when  Mr.  Lincoln  was  nominated,  supported  his 
election  with  intense  earnestness.  During  the  troublous  times  preceding 
the  opening  of  hostilities,  Mr.  Trumbull  was  one  of  the  leaders  of  the 
Union  party  in  the  Senate,  and  advocated  prompt  and  decisive  measures 
for  upholding  the  government. 

The  legislature  of  Illinois,  in  session  in  1861,  re-elected  Mr.  Trum- 
bull for  a  term  of  six  years.  The  exigencies  of  the  succeeding  four  years 
demanded  constant  activity  of  thought  and  speech  from  all  connected 
with  the  legislative  department  of  the  nation.  Air.  Trumbull  was  among 
the  first  to  propose  the  amendment  of  the  constitution,  abolishing  slavery 
in  the  United  States.  He  held  the  position  of  Chairman  of  the  Judiciary 
Committee  of  the  Senate  for  six  years.  During  that  time  he  framed  and 
advocated  many  important  acts  and  resolutions  which  were  passed  by  Con- 
gress during  and  since  the  war.  Among  such  acts  was  the  one  enlarging 
the  powers  of  the  Freedmen's  Bureau,  and  the  Civil  Rights  Act.  The 
legislature  of  1867  re-elected  him  to  the  Senate  for  a  third  term  of  six 
years.  At  the  expiration  of  his  term  he  retired  from  Senatorial  life- 
After  this  he  left  the  Republican  party,  and  returning  to  his  first  love, 
was  the  Democratic  nominee  for  Governor  in  1880,  but  was  defeated. 

Although  never  having  graduated  from  any  college,  Mr.  Trumbull 
has  acquired  a  broad  and  profound  culture  which  at  once  denotes  him 
a  scholar.  He  has  twice  received  the  title  of  Doctor  of  Laws,  once  from 
McKendree  College,  Illinois,  and  once  from  Yale. 

Mr.  Trumbull  has  spent  many  of  the  best  years  of  his  life  in  the 
service  of  his  country,  and  has  in  return,  won  the  unqualified  respect  of 
all,  whether  agreeing  with  him  politically  or  not.  He  is  progressive, 
yet  not  violent;  and  his  views,  though  decided  and  forcibly  expressed, 
are  never  given  in  other  than  a  peaceable  spirit.  He  is  brave,  earnest 
and  judicious.  His  long  and  honorable  course  while  in  the  Senate  has 
shown  him  to  be  one  of  the  wisest  and  most  faithful  statesmen  our  coun- 
try has  yet  known. 


277 


ISRAEL  N.  STILES. 


I.  N.  Stiles,  one  of  the  most  prominent  and  brilliant  members  of  the 
Chicago  bar,  and  a  man  of  rare  personal  worth,  was  born  in  Suffield, 
Connecticut,  in  the  year  1833.  His  father's  name  was  Aaron  and  his 
mother's  Elvira.  The  son  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  and  in 
the  Connecticut  Literary  Institute,  securing  an  excellent  education  and 
laying  the  foundation  for  the  strong  character  for  which  his  manhood  has 
been  distinguished. 

In  1853  he  came  West,  and  settling  at  Lafayette,  Indiana,  engaged 
in  teaching  a  private  school  for  boys  and  in  studying  law.  In  1856  he 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  Lafayette,  and  immediately  began  to  exhibit 
the  talent  with  which  nature  endowed  him,  attracting  public  attention  to 
a  degree  that  he  was  elected  to  the  State  legislature  in  1857,  and  served 
in  that  body  during  the  session  of  1857-8.  At  the  very  beginning  of  the 
war  of  the  rebellion — May,  1861 — he  entered  the  army  as  a  private  of 
the  Twentieth  Indiana  Volunteers,  but  was  soon  after  made  Adjutant. 
In  June,  1862,  he  was  taken  prisoner  at  Malvern  Hill,  and  was  in  the 
famous  or  infamous  Libby  Prison  for  two  months,  when  he  was  exchanged, 
and  afterward  made  Major  of  the  Sixty-third  Indiana  Volunteers,  and  later 
Lieutenant  Colonel  and  Colonel.  He  was  at  Knoxville  through  the 
Winter  campaign,  and  was  promoted  to  Brevet  Brigadier  General  for 
gallantry  at  Franklin,  Tennessee.  He  left  the  army  July  3d,  1865,  having 
made  a  record  of  which  he  may  pardonably  be  proud,  and  which  his 
friends  will  always  contemplate  with  the  utmost  satisfaction. 

Upon  leaving  the  military  service  he  came  to  Chicago,  arriving  here 
in  October,  1865,  and  at  once  entered  upon  the  practice  of  his  profession. 
From  1867  to  1869  he  was  the  law  partner  of  Judge  McAllister,  the 
partnership  being  at  that  time  terminated  by  the  election  of  the  latter  to 
the  bench  of  the  Recorder's  Court.  From  1869  to  1873  General  Stiles 
was  City  Attorney,  and  in  all  the  official  positions  which  he  has  held, 
here  or  elsewhere,  he  has  discharged  the  duties  which  they  imposed  with 
great  success  and  the  strictest  fidelity.  His  private  practice  is  large  and 
of  the  best  character,  and  his  services  are  sought  in  very  many  of  the 
most  important  and  difficult  cases  that  come  before  our  courts.  A  care- 
ful counselor,  and  a  close  student  of  all  the  details  of  a  case,  his  special 
forte  is,  nevertheless,  in  the  examination  of  witnesses  and  before  the  jury. 
In  an  easy  but  certain  way  he  reaches  the  desired  result  in  a  witness' 


278  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

direct  or  cross  examination,  and  when  through,  the  witness  scarcely 
realizes  that  if  he  has  intended  to  have  his  own  way  and  make  cer- 
tain impressions,  he  has  utterly  failed;  hut  he  has  nevertheless.  As 
an  advocate  General  Stiles  rises  to  the  full  dignity  of  an  accomplished 
orator,  now  arraying  the  evidence  in  logical  form  before  the  jury;  then 
convulsing  court,  jury  and  spectators  with  laughter;  again  by  a  pathetic 
appeal  causing  the  tear  to  start  in  every  eye,  and  deftly  intermingling 
with  all  a  fine,  clear  cutting  sarcasm  which  causes  an  opponent  to  shrink 
as  if  from  fire.  Seldom,  indeed,  are  the  true  elements  of  oratory  so  fully 
represented  in  a  lawyer. 

Personally  General  Stiles  is  a  polished  and  most  genia.1  gentleman, 
winning  the  love  of  all  with  whom  he  comes  in  contact  in  the  social 
circle,  and  making  friends  wherever  he  is  known.  He  has  been  twice 
married.  His  first  wife,  whom  he  married  in  1860,  was  Jenny  Coney,  of 
Sag  Harbor,  New  York;  she  died  in  Chicago,  April,  1877.  He  was 
married  the  second  time  April,  1881,  to  Antoinette  C.  Wright.  He  has 
three  children,  Theodosia,  aged  nineteen;  Harry,  fifteen,  and  Robin, 
twelve. 


379 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


THE    FIRE    OF     1874. 

On  the  night  of  the  fourteenth   of  July,   1874,  Chicago  was   again 
visited  by  an  extensive  conflagration,  and  one,  which  but  for  the  memory 
of  the  destruction  of  1871,  would   have  been  considered   appalling.     The 
EVENING  JOURNAL  on  the  day  following  the  fire,  said:    "It  might  have 
been  worse,  is  the  consolation   left  this   morning  as  we  gaze  on  the  ruins 
which  mark  the  scene  of  last  night's  fii'e.      About  four  o'clock  in  the 
evening,  fire  was  discovered  in  a  shanty  adjoining  an  oil  factory  on  Taylor 
street,  between  Fourth  avenue  and  Clark  street,  and   before  the  engines 
arrived  the  flames  had  traveled  over  the  rows  of  shanties  that  abounded  in 
that  locality.    Everything  was  favorable  for  a  big  conflagration.    The  wind 
blew  briskly  from  the  southwest,  the  air  was  warm  and  the  buildings  that 
stood  in  front  of  the  fire  were  dry  and  combustible.     The  engines  arrived 
on  the  ground  and  went  to  work.     A  second  alarm  was  turned  in  and  then 
a  third,  until  every  engine  in  the  city  was  at  the  scene.      The  flames  rose 
high  and  swept  on  furiously.    The  air  was  full  of  sparks,  and  burning  wood 
borne  in  the  wind  dropped  on  roofs,  and  in  less  than  no  time  buildings  far 
north  of  the  firemen  were  in  flames.     The  firemen  were  working  behind 
the  fire  for  fully  two  hours.     That  was  the  mistake.     Instead  of  keeping 
in  front  thev  were  away  in  the  rear  fighting  a  column  of  flame  that  moved 
toward  them  with  irresistless  swiftness,  while  at   the   same  time  buildings 
a  block  north  were  catching,  and  there  was  not  a  single  hose  to  play  on 
them  and  extinguish  the  fire  in  its  incipiency.     The  flames  spread  quickly 
from  Third  and  Fourth  avenues  to  State  street,  and  in  less  than  two  hours 
Wabash  avenue  was  on  fire.      At  this  time   it   was  apparent  to  everybody 
that  there  was  no  use  in  trying  to  save  buildings  that  had  begun  to  burn. 
All  that  could  be  done  was  to  make  a  stand  somewhere   and  prevent  the 
further  progress  of  the  flames.      The  key  to  the  position  was  at  Harrison 
street.     Up  to  that  point  frame  buildings  had  furnished  food  to  the  flames, 
but  here  was  a  line  of  brick  and  stone  that  might  form  a  rampart   against 
the  fast  approaching  destroyer.     Engines  were  stationed  on  Harrison  street 
and  at  the  Postoffice,  which  after  the  fire  of  1871,  was   located  in  a  church 
at  the  corner  of  Harrison  street  and  Wabash  avenue.       The  line  of  build- 
ings on  the  north  side  of  the  street  were  drenched  from  top  to  bottom.    At 
one  time  it  seemed  as  if  that  might  be  the  northern  limit  of  devastation, 
and  probably  it  would  have  been  had  the  frame  buildings  on  the  south  side 
of  Harrison  street  been  torn  down  or  blown  up  before  the  fire  engulfed 


280  CHICAGO  AND  ITS   DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

them.  The  firemen  fought  nobly,  but  there  seemed  to  be  no  man  with  nerve 
enough  to  order  buildings  already  doomed,  to  be  blown  up  so  as  to  leave  a 
gap  which  the  flames  could  not  jump. 

The  postoffice  cupola  caught  fire  from  a  burning  brand  and  instantly 
was  blazing  from  the  stone  work  to  the  pinnacle.  It  was  a  grand  and 
awful  sight  at  this  moment,  vast  volumes  of  smoke  rolling  across  the 
heavens  which  were  illuminated  by  the  columns  of  flame  which  shot  up 
here  and  there  from  the  burning  buildings.  The  cupola  burned  brightly, 
all  efforts  to  reach  it  with  the  hose  being  unavailing.  In  ten  minutes  from 
the  time  it  caught  down  it  came  with  a  crash,  the  burning  timbers  falling 
on  the  roof  of  the  Money  Order  Department,  setting  it  on  fire,  and  then 
the  fate  of  the  building  was  apparent  to  every  spectator.  Nearly  at  the 
same  time  O'Neill's  great  liquor  store  caught,  and  the  flames  burst  out 
from  front  and  rear,  and  the  block  was  a  mass  of  flame.  In  the  meantime 
the  west  side  of  Wabash  avenue  was  eaten  through  away  north  of  Harri- 
son street,  and  the  fire  had  jumped  the  street  and  laid  hold  of  residences  on 
the  east  side.  Nothing  could  be  done;  it  was  evident  that  the  fire  would 
go  to  the  lake.  The  heat  was  intense.  The  streets  were  filled  by  a  multi- 
tude of  people,  jostling,  running,  hurrying  hither  and  thither,  they  knew 
not  where.  Wagons  were  being  driven  away  with  rescued  property 
engines  were  whistling,  hose  were  bursting  on  every  block,  firemen  were 
shrieking,  women  and  children  crying,  men  swearing,  making  altogether 
a  scene  of  indescribable  confusion. 

About  nine  o'clock  Prussing's  vinegar  works,  south  of  O'Neill's 
building,  were  on  fire,the  flames  soaring  high  in  the  air,  and  sending  burn- 
ing brands  on  their  incendiary  errands.  Soon  after  a  lot  of  shanties  in  the 
rear  of  the  St.  James  Hotel  caught,  and  though  the  hotel  stood  it  bravely 
for  half  an  hour,  finally  succumbed  and  went  down  in  a  gulf  of  fire.  The 
Adelphi  Theater  took  no  time  f.o  burn  and  by  ten  o'clock  the  flames  had 
visited  Wabash  avenue  as  far  south  as  VanBuren  Street.  At  eleven 
o'clock  the  Michigan  Avenue  Hotel  caught,  and  before  midnight  the  fire 
was  as  near  the  lake  as  it  could  get,  having  exhausted  its  fury  and  destroyed 
everything  in  the  direct  line  of  its  course." 

The  area  burned  over  by  this  fire  was  about  sixty  acres,  and  the  loss 
although  falling  below  the  first  estimate  of  four  million  dollars,  was  very 
heavy.  The  location  where  the  fire  commenced  was  the  worst  and  most 
disreputable  in  the  city,  and  in  the  attempts  to  find  the  lights  among  the 
shades  of  the  dark  picture,  the  people  concluded  that  the  destruction  of  the 
vile  dens  was  among  the  brightest.  The  fire  of  1871  began  in  a  very 
similar  nest  of  low  framed  buildings,  with  the  wind  blowing  in  the  same 
direction.  The  saddest  feature  of  the  destruction  was  the  large  number  of 
poor  people,  and  especially  negroes,  who  were  made  shelterless.  Usually 
the  rich  can  take  care  of  themselves,  but  with  home  gone,  furniture  gone, 
all  gone,  heaven  pity  the  poor.  Hundreds  of  poor  families  were  made 
homeless  and  hopeless.  Considered,  therefore,  as  affecting  these  individ- 
uals the  ruin  was  distressing,  but  considered  as  affecting  the  community 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  281 

the  source  of  this  individual  distress  was  the  cause  of  sincere  rejoicing,  for 
the  rookeries  which  these  people  called  their  homes  were  a  standing 
menace  to  the  safety  of  the  city. 

Many  very  fine  buildings,  however,  were  swept  away,  and  others 
escaped  but  by  the  merest  chance,  among  these  being  the  Exposition  Build- 
ing, the  Gardner  House  and  Matteson  House.  The  Jones  School  building 
erected  a  year  before  on  the  south  west  corner  of  Harrison  street  and  Third 
avenue,  fell  before  the  holocaust.  O'Neill's  liquor  store  at  the  northeast 
corner  of  State  and  Harrison  streets  was  one  of  the  finest  buildings  in  the 
city.  The  St.  James  Hotel,  situated  at  the  corner  of  VanBuren  and  State 
streets,  was  early  doomed.  The  First  Baptist  Church,  the  Michigan 
Avenue  Methodist  Churcb,  in  which  the  post  office  was  located,  the  Adelphi 
Theater — formerly  Aiken's — the  Inter  Oceanic  building,  the  fine  residences 
of  Mrs.  Ira  Couch,  B.  P.  Hutchinson,  E.  G.  Hall  and  C.  Beckwith,  the 
Continental,  Wood's,  Berg  and  Michigan  Avenue  hotels,  and  the  Hebrew 
Synagogue  at  the  corner  of  Wabash  avenue  and  Peck  court,  were  among 
the  ruins. 

As  might  naturally  have  been  expected,  the  populace  was  greatly 
excited.  The  possibility  of  the  total  annihilation  of  the  city  had  been 
graphically  demonstrated  three  years  before,  and  the  people  had  not  for- 
gotten it.  Consequently  stores  were  rapidly  emptied  of  their  merchandise, 
and  teams  loaded  with  goods  of  every  conceivable  character,  were  hasten- 
ing through  the  crowded  streets  to  some  place  of  safety.  As  far  north  as 
Lake  street,  merchants  proceeded  to  pack  up  their  stocks,  in  order  to  be 
ready  for  an  emergency.  With  their  former  experience,  the  people  seemed 
to  anticipate  the  worst,  and  load  after  load  of  goods  were  transported  to 
the  West  Side.  Field,  Leiter  &  Company  shared  in  the  general  alarm, 
and  when  to  the  general  observer  their  store  did  not  seem  in  the  remotest 
•danger,  they  set  to  work  to  empty  it  of  its  contents,  conveying  their  entire 
retail  stock  across  the  river. 

The  track  of  the  flames  being  largely  through  a  disreputable  section  of 
the  city,  the  fallen  and  degraded  were  unceremoniously  tipped  out  into  the 
street,  without  even  the  consolation  of  enjoying  the  usual  sympathy  ex- 
tended to  the  victims  of  misfortune.  On  Third  and  Fourth  avenues,  Polk 
street,  Clark  and  State  streets,  the  unfortunate  inmates  of  the  dens  which 
were  so  numerous,  were  rushing  hither  and  thither,  wringing  their  hands, 
moaning  and  shedding  bitter  tears.  About  five  hundred  of  these  frail 
creatures  were  driven  from  their  wretched  homes,  losing  all  that  they  had, 
for  many  of  them  had  barely  time  enough  to  save  themselves. 

Such  an  extensive  and  rapid  conflagration  must  almost  necessarily 
result  in  the  loss  of  human  life.  Fortunately,  however,  fewer  lives  were 
sacrificed  on  this  occasion  than  might  reasonably  have  been  expected. 
There  were  seven  bodies  found  in  the  ruins,  and  it  is  likely  that  those 
comprised  the  extent  of  the  loss  of  life. 

The  total  amount  which  the  insurance  companies  had  at  risk  in 
the  district  was  two  million,  seven  hundred  and  twenty  thousand,  two 


282  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZKNS. 

hundred  and  ninety  dollars,  and  the  salvage  amounting  to  four  hundred 
and  eighty-two  thousand,  three  hundred  and  twenty  dollars,  left  the  liabili- 
ties of  the  companies  at  two  million,  two  hundred  and  forty- four  thousand, 
nine  hundred  and  seventy  dollars. 

How  the  fire  originated,  and  how  such  conflagrations  were  to  be  pre- 
vented in  the  future  were  important  matters  which  received  the  attention 
of  the  people.  Suspicion  did  not  attach  to  a  lamp,  or  cow  or  woman  this 
time,  but  the  cause  of  the  disaster  was  diligently  and  legitimately  sought. 
The  theory  of  incendiarism  became  current,  and  Nathan  Isaacson  was 
arrested  and  had  an  examination  upon  the  charge  of  starting  the  big  blaze. 
It  was  proved  upon  examination  that  Isaacson  offered  a  witness  a  hundred 
dollars  to  set  fire  to  the  building  in  which  the  fire  originated,  and  one 
witness  swore  that  he  saw  the  wife  of  the  prisoner  with  matches  in  her 
hand  a  few  minutes  before  the  fire  broke  out.  Two  weeks  before,  there 
was  a  slight  fire  in  the  locality  where  the  conflagration  begun,  and  a  wit- 
ness swore  on  Isaacson's  examination  that  he  had  heard  the  accused 
boastfully  say  that  the  next  time  he  would  give  it  a  better  touch.  Isaac- 
son and  his  wife  were  bound  over  to  the  grand  jury,  together  with  three 
of  the  witnesses,  the  court  remarking  that  he  was  .satisfied  that  this  fire 
started  where  the  one  two  weeks  previous  started,  but  that  the  witnesses 
had  shown  entirely  too  much  feeling  to  make  it  absolutely  certain  that 
they  were  telling  the  truth.  For  a  time,  indeed,  there  was  a  mania  for 
suspicioning  incendiarism,  and  it  operated  something  like  the  belief  which 
sometimes  springs  from  the  imagination  that  we  can  smell  "something 
burning"  in  the  house.  It  operated,  however,  no  doubt,  to  deter  any  who- 
were  inclined  to  commit  this  dastardly  crime  from  indulging  their  pro- 
pensity, but  little  was  done  with  the  several  who  were  arrested  for  subse- 
quent incendiarism,  and  we  believe  that  Isaacson  was  never  convicted  of  the 
alleged  offense. 

As  is  usual  at  such  times,  everybody  whose  duties  brought  them  in 
connection  with  the  fire  was  severely  censured  for  doing  or  not  doing, 
as  the  case  happened  to  be.  Mayor  Colvin  was  condemned  for  not  giving 
the  order  to  blowup  buildings;  Mathias  Benner,  the  Fire  Marshal,  was 
censured  for  incompetency,  and  the  Mayor  was  so  deeply  impressed  with 
the  truth  of  the  allegations  that  he  expressed  the  opinion  that  the  Marshal 
should  be  superseded;  the  fire  commissioners  were  loudly  denounced,  and 
it  was  charged  that  some  of  the  fire  department  were  actually  intoxi- 
cated during  the  progress  of  the  fire.  When  the  excitement  wore 
off,  however,  all  these  indictments  were  withdrawn,  and  the  general 
verdict  is  that  all  parties  did  the  best  they  could  under  the  circumstances. 
That  mistakes  were  made  is  probable;  in  fact  impartial  history  must 
record  the  fact  that  there  were  mistakes.  But  it  is  one  thing  to  criticise 
the  management  of  a  battle,  and  quite  another  thing  to  fight  it.  With 
acres  of  fire  rolling  over  a  city,  aijd  gathering  strength  and  fury  every 
moment,  the  most  experienced  and  competent  men  will  be  pardoned  for 
failing  to  connect  their  thoughts  or  to  argue  to  correct  conclusions,  as 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  283 

readily  as  even  the  most  inexperienced  and  incompetent  can  do  in  the 
quiet  of  the  home  where  no  terrible  danger  threatens.  Mathias  Benner, 
the  condemned  Fire  Marshal,  continued  to  occupy  the  position  for  several 
years  after  the  sad  catastrophe,  and  when  he  left  the  department  the  almost 
universal  verdict  was  that  his  place  would  be  difficult  to  fill. 

But  the  excitement  of  the  people  took  other  and  more  commendable 
shape  than  this,  and  the  results  were  valuable.  It  was  the  fixed  determi- 
nation to  have  the  fire  ordinances  obeyed  to  the  letter  and  to  get  rid  of  the 
many  wooden  structures  which  had  been  temporarily  constructed  in  viola- 
tion of  the  spirit  of  the  ordinances,  but  still  with  the  permission  of  the 
authorities.  A  mass  meeting  of  the  citizens  was  called  and  held  at 
McCormick  Hall  on  the  evening  of  July  i9th,  1874,  of  which  the  EVENING 
JOURNAL  of  the  following  Monday  said:  "McCormick  Hall  was  filled 
Saturday  night  by  the  citizens  of  Chicago,  assembled  for  the  purpose  of 
discussing  means  to  prevent  the  recurrence  of  another  great  fire.  Colonel 
Hammond  called  the  meeting  to  order,  and  named  W.  F.  Coolbaugh 
for  permanent  chairman.  He  struck  the  key  note  of  the  meeting  in  his 
opening  speech :  'First,  make  the  fire  limits  co-extensive  with  the  city 
limits.  Second,  enforce  the  ordinance  which  is  violated  by  the  toleration 
of  rookeries  in  the  old  burned  district.'  On  these  two  points  the  meeting 
was  harmonious,  and  every  committee  of  conference  small  or  great  has 
echoed  this  command.  As  Mr.  Coolbaugh  urged,  the  poor  men  who  own 
their  humble  homes,  and  no  more,  may  find  it  hard  to  build  brick  cottages, 
but  they  cannot  afford  to  be  exposed  to  another  great  conflagration.  The 
truth  is  that  all  classes  of  property  holders,  high  and  low,  rich  and  poor, 
have  a  common  interest  on  this  subject,  and  by  this  time  all  must  see.it.  It 
is  encouraging  to  see  with  what  unanimity  and  zeal  the  removal  of  the 
rookeries  from  the  business  portion  of  the  city  is  being  demanded.  Not 
only  have  old  shanties  of  that  kind  remained,  but  new  ones  are  going  up. 
It  is  probable  that  Aiken's  Theater  would  not  have  been  burned,  had  it 
not  been  for  the  unlawful  tinder  boxes  south  and  west  of  it.  No  time 
should  be  lost  in  securing  their  removal. 

We  quite  agree  with  Charles  Randolph,  who  made  one  of  the  most 
sensible  speeches  of  the  evening,  that  it  is  not  enough  to  have  incombusti- 
ble outer  walls,  and  that  strict  care  should  be  observed  in  the  interior 
construction  of  buildings,  especially  large  buildings.  That  iron  shutters 
should  protect  the  windows  is  another  good  suggestion,  and  upon  this  the 
underwriters  strenuously  insist.  Other  pertinent  suggestions  were  made. 
Some  of  them,  such  as  the  laying  out  of  small  parks  here  and  there,  and 
widening  streets,  need  not  be  discussed  immediately,  for  action  cannot  be 
taken  for  some  time  yet  upon  the  matter;  but  the  other  points  mentioned 
call  for  immediate  action  on  the  part  of  the  authorities." 

It  will  be  seen  that  in  the  flurry  of  the  hour  some  extreme  and  impos- 
sible measures  were  suggested,  but  that  was  pardonable,  especially  so  since 
it  did  not  prevent  or  retard  the  suggestions  of  really  valuable  measures. 

One  valuable  result  of  the  fire  was  the  organization   by  the    under- 


284  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

writers  of  a  Fire  Patrol,  under  the  command  of  Captain  Benjamin  Bull- 
winkle.  This  force  has  been  in  existence  Aver  since,  and  is  one  of  the 
most  useful  and  efficient  fire  organizations  in  the  world.  It  is  equipped 
with  Babcock  fire  extinguishers,  and  with  rubber  blankets  for  the  protec- 
tion of  merchandise  from  damage  by  water.  It  is  the  means  of  saving  a 
vast  deal  of  property  every  year. 

Thus  ends  the  record  of  Chicago's  second  and  last  great  fire  up  to 
this  writing,  and  certainly  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  it  will  be  the  last  forever. 
The  city,  upon  common  principles  of  reasoning,  has  had  its  share  of  mis- 
fortune of  that  character  and  is  now  entitled  to  immunity. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


CHICAGO  JOURNALISM. 

The  first  newspaper  in  Chicago,  which  was  first  issued  November 
26th,  1833,  was  called  the  CHICAGO  DEMOCRAT,  and  was  edited  and  pub- 
lished by  John  Calhoun.  The  following  list  of  subscribers  would  hardly 
be  sufficient  to  pay  the  current  weekly  expenses  of  a  live  weekly  paper, 
but  the  subscriptions  and  advertising  kept  the  DEMOCRAT  in  existence,  and 
the  following  names  of  subscribers  are  worthy  of  record : 

Nelson  R.  Norton, 
Benjamin  Hall, 
N.  Carpenter, 
Hiram  Lumbard, 
Samuel  Harmon, 
J.  W.  Reed, 
Walter  Kimball, 
William  Taylor, 
H.  Barnes, 
E.  Brown, 
Ahisa  Hubbard, 
R.  E.  Herrick, 
Thomas  Hoyt, 
Edward  E.  Hunter, 
John  Noble, 
Ford  Freeman, 
Hiram  Pease, 

A.  Lloyd, 

C.  &  I.  Harmon, 
Chester  Ingersoli, 
Dr.  W.  Clark, 
John  Miller, 
Samuel  Brown, 
Newberry  &  Dole, 
G.  Kercheval, 
James  Kinzie, 
E.  A.  Rider, 
H.  B.  Clark, 
Robert  Kinzie, 
W.  H.  Brown, 

B.  Jones, 
I.  Allen, 

J.  K.  Botsford, 

J.  B.  Tuttle, 

Col.  R.  I.  Hamilton, 

Charles  Wisencraft, 

E.  S.  Thrall, 

John  Wright, 

The  DEMOCRAT  was  sold  on  the  fourteenth  of  November,  1836,  to 
Horatio  Hill,  and  was  by  him  transferred  to  a  young  man,  without  capital 
or  influence,  since  become  noted  as  John  Wentworth.  From  this 
beginning  a  mighty  press  has  sprung  up  in  the  metropolis  of  the  Westr 


Oliver  Losier, 
John  Marshall, 
S.  Ellis, 
Isaac  Harmon, 
C.  B.  Dodson, 
L.  Barnes, 
Richard  Steele, 
Henry  Hopkins, 
Elijah  Clark, 
William  Taylor, 
Mark  Beaubien, 
John  H.  Kenzie, 
Paul  Burdeck, 
Mancel  Talcott, 
August  Penoyer, 
Jones  &  King, 
J.  Dean  Caton, 
Eli  B.  Williams, 
Samuel  Wayman, 
Archibald  Clybourne, 
Augustus  Rugsby, 
Silas  Cobb, 
Abel  Breed, 
E.  W.  Haddock, 
Irad  Hill, 
Albert  Forbes, 
Dr.  Maxwell, 
Hiram  Hugenin, 
P.  S.  Updyke, 
John  L.  Sergerts, 
John  Watk:.ns, 
Mathias  Mason, 
John  Well  maker, 
I.  Solomon, 
N.  F. Ilurd, 
James  Mitchell, 
Philo  Carpenter, 


Robert  Williston, 
John  Davis, 
H.C.  West, 
Byron  Gurin, 
John  T.  Temple, 
William  Cooley, 
Rathbone  Sanford, 
Orsemus  Morrison, 
James  Walker, 
Gilbert  Carpenter, 
Benjamin  Briggs, 
W.  Vanderberg, 
Benjamin  F.  Barker, 
Samuel  Brown, 
H.  I.  Cleveland, 
S.  C.  Gage, 

B.  Caldwell, 
Charles  Viana, 

Lt.  L.  T.  Jamieson, 
Librarian  Ft.  Dearborn, 

E.  Wentworth, 
George  Walker, 
Stephen  E.  Downer, 
Abel  E.  Carpenter, 
John  Beaubien, 
Ppa-ker  M.  Cole, 

J.  R.  Brown, 
Solomon  Lincoln, 

F.  Forbes, 

C.  H.  Chapman, 
Platt  Thorn, 

J.  P.  Brady, 
Jacob  G.  Patterson, 
George  Hertington, 
Alexander  N.  Fullerton, 
M.  K.  Brown, 
Silas  W.  Sherman. 


286  CHICAGO  AND  ITS   DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

rivaling  and  even  surpassing  the  newspapers  and  journals  of  the  East  and 
the  world.  THE  TIMES,  TRIBUNE,  INTER-OCEAN,  JOURNAL  and  NEWS 
are  the  English  and  the  ILLINOIS  STAATS  ZEITUNG  and  FRIE  PRESSE 
are  the  German  dailies  which  have  led  Chicago  journalism  to  its  present 
eminence. 

The  first  daily  newspaper  published  in  Chicago  or  Illinois  was  issued 
April  pth,  1839,  by  William  Stewart,  and  was  called  the  AMERICAN.  Two 
years  later  Buckner  S.  Morris  became  it's  proprietor  and  continued  to  pub- 
lish it  until  October  iyth,  1842,  when  its  publication  was  discontinued.  On 
the  thirty-first  of  this  month,  however,  the  first  issue  of  the  EXPRESS, 
under  the  proprietorship  of  W.  W.  Bracket,  came  from  the  press,  and  so 
Chicago  was  not  long  without  a  daily  newspaper.  In  1844  a  joint  stock 
company  was  organized  for  the  purpose  of  publishing  a  Whig  paper, 
and  the  EXPRESS  was  purchased  and  merged  into  the  JOURNAL,  the  first 
number  of  which  was  issued  April  twenty-second.  The  parties  selected 
by  the  stockholders  to  manage  the  paper  were  J.  Lisle  Smith,  William  H. 
Brown,  George  W.  Meeker,  Jonathan  Young  Scammon,  Grant  Goodrich, 
Richard  L.  Wilson  and  John  W.  Norris.  At  the  close  of  the  presidential 
campaign  of  that  year  the  JOURNAL  passed  into  the  hands  of  Richard  L. 
Wilson,  who  a  few  years  later  associated  with  him  his  brother,  Charles 
L.  Wilson,  the  firm  being  Richard  L.  &  Charles  L.  Wilson.  In  Decem- 
ber, 1856,  Richard  L.  Wilson  died,  and  Charles  L.  became  sole  proprietor- 

Upon  the  demise  of  the  old  Whig  party,  the  JOURNAL  became  Re- 
publican in  politics,  and  has  advocated  the  claims  of  that  party  down  to  the 
present  time.  In  1861  Mr.  Wilson  accepted  the  position  of  Secretary  to 
the  American  Legation  at  London,  and  upon  his  departure  left  the  JOUR- 
NAL in  charge  of  John  L.  Wilson,  as  publisher,  and  of  Andrew  Shuman, 
as  editor.  Mr.  Wilson  resigned  his  office  in  1864,  and  returned  to  his 
paper,  which  had  greatly  increased  in  value  during  the  years  of  his  absence. 
In  1869  John  L.  Wilson  severed  his  connection  with  the  paper  and  Henry 
W.  Farrar  became  business  manager. 

In  the  conflagration  of  1871  the  JOURNAL  lost  its  building  and  all  its 
material,  but  like  the  other  brave  and  energetic  sufferers  from  that  visita- 
tion, Mr.  Wilson  was  equal  to  the  emergency,  and  hiring  the  material  of 
a  job  office  on  the  West  Side,  the  paper  was  published  on  time,  and  never 
missed  an  issue.  After  the  fire  the  publisher  built  a  fine  building  on 
Dearborn  street,  between  Madison  and.  Monroe,  directly  opposite  the  old 
postoffice,  now  Haverly's  Theater,  and  the  paper  has  been  published 
there  ever  since. 

Charles  L.  Wilson  died  in  1875,  at  San  Antonio,  Texas,  whither  he  had 
gone  in  search  of  health.  Before  his  death  he  had  organized  a  stock 
company  for  the  publication  of  the  JOURNAL,  himself  being  President 
and  Henry  W.  Farrar,  Secretary.  Nearly  all  the  stock  was  owned  by 
Mr.  Wilson,  and  at  his  death,  Mrs.  Wilson  and  an  only  daughter  became 
its  owners.  Andrew  Shuman  was  now  elected  President  of  the  comoany, 
and  remained  the  editor  of  the  paper,  which  position  he  had  held  since  1861. 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS   DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  287 

On  the  first  of  March,  1880,  the  company  leased  the  establishment  to 
Andrew  Shuman  and  John  R.  Wilson,  who  have  the  privilege  of  purchas- 
ing the  stock  now  owned  by  Mrs.  Wilson  and  her  daughter  at  any  time 
during  the  continuance  of  the  lease. 

Thus  the  JOURNAL  has  been  published  for  thirty-six  years,  and  has 
won  an  enviable  place  in  the  history  of  Chicago  journalism.  It  is  steady- 
going  and  reliable,  avoiding  sensationalism,  and  is  frank  and  fair  in  the 
treatment  of  men  and  public  questions. 

The  TRIBUNE  was  first  issued  July  loth,  1847,  anc^  was  stal'ted  by 
John  J.  Kelly,  John  E.  Wheeler  and  J.  C.  K.  Forest.  The  name  was 
suggested  by  Mr.  Forest,  and  as  Mr.  Wheeler  had  been  in  the  employ  of 
the  New  York  TRIBUNE,  he  readily  assented  to  its  adoption.  It  was 
independent  in  politics,  but  was  somewhat  tinctured  with  free  soil  notions. 
Its  first  issue  was  four  hundred  copies,  and  was  printed  on  a  hand- press, 
which  was  operated  by  one  of  the  proprietors.  Thomas  A.  Stewart 
purchased  Mr.  Kelly's  interest  very  soon  after  the  paper  was  started,  and 
in  the  month  of  September,  1847,  Mr.  Forest  retired,  leaving  the  concern 
in  the  hands  of  Wheeler  &  Stewart,  by  whom  the  business  was  conducted 
until  August  23d,  1848,  when  John  L.  Scripps  purchased  a  third  interest, 
the  name  of  the  firm  being  Wheeler,  Stewart  &  Scripps.  In  May,  1857, 
the  establishment  was  unfortunate  enough  to  be  destroyed  by  fire,  but  fire 
does  not  seem  to  frighten  Chicago  people  very  much,  and  the  TRIBUNE 
continued  to  thrive  as  if  no  baptism  of  flame  had  been  its  portion.  Its 
prosperity,  however,  in  those  days,  looked  at  from  the  shadow  of  its  pres- 
ent power  and  influence,  appears  hardly  distinguishable  from  adversity.  In 
1860  it  had  a  circulation  of  only  one  thousand,  one  hundred  and  twenty, 
but  that  that  was  considered  prosperity  is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  the 
paper  was  enlarged  to  the  size  of  twenty-six  by  forty  inches. 

On  the  seventh  of  July,  1857,  Thomas  J.  Waite  purchased  Mr. 
Wheeler's  interest,  and  became  the  business  manager.  In  June  of  the 
following  }  ear,  a  party  of  prominent  Whigs  purchased  Mr.  Scripps'  third 
interest,  and  William  Duane  Wilson  assumed  the  editorial  management. 
Mr.  Waite  dying  in  August,  1852,  his  interest  was  purchased  by  Henry 
Fowler,  and  in  March  of  the  year  following  Mr.  Wilson  sold  his  interest 
to  Henry  Fowler,  Timothy  Wright  and  J.  D.  Webster,  who  published 
the  paper  under  the  name  and  style  of  Henry  Fowler  &  Company  until 
the  June  following,  when  Joseph  Medill  bought  an  interest  and  the  firm 
name  was  changed  to  Wright,  Medill  &  Company. 

The  year  1855  witnessed  more  changes  in  the  proprietorship  and 
management  of  the  paper.  Alfred  Coles  was  admitted  to  the  firm,  and  the 
proprietors  were  then  C.  H.  Ray,  Joseph  Medill,  John  C.  Vaughan 
and  Alfred  Coles.  C.  H.  Ray  and  J.  C.  Vaughan  were  announced  as 
editors.  Mr.  Vaughan  retired  March  26th,  1857,  and  the  name  of  the  firm 
became  Ray,  Medill  &  Company,  which  style  was  retained  until  July  ist, 
1858,  at  which  time  the  TRIBUNE  and  DEMOCRATIC  PRESS  were  consoli- 
dated. 


288  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZKNS. 

The  first  number  of  the  DEMOCRATIC  PRESS,  whose  history  is  so 
intimately  connected  with  the  TRIBUNE,  was  issued  September  i6th,  1852, 
by  John  L.  Scripps  and  William  Bross.  Originally  it  was  a  conservative 
Democratic  paper,  but  after  the  passage  of  the  Kansas-Nebraska  bill  it 
became  free  soil,  and  later,  at  the  organization  of  the  Republican  party, 
it  became  the  advocate  of  the  principles  of  that  party.  The  TRIBUNE  and 
DEMOCRATIC  PRESS  occupying  the  same  grounds  politically,  it  was 
deemed  the  part  of  wisdom  on  the  part  of  their  respective  proprietors  to 
consolidate  the  two  papei's,  and  the  consolidation  was  effected  at  the  date 
above  mentioned,  and  the  paper  was  called  the  TRIBUNE  AND  PRESS  until 
October  25111,  1861,  when  the  word  PRESS  was  dropped.  The  legislature 
of  1861-2  granted  a  charter  to  C.  H.  Ray,  Joseph  Medill,  Alfred  Coles, 
John  L.  Scripps  and  William  Bross,  incorporating  them  under  the  name 
of  the  Tribune  Company. 

In  1 868  the  company  began  the  erection  of  a  building  on  the  south- 
east corner  of  Madison  and  Dearborn  streets.  The  building  was  thought 
to  be  fire  proof,  but  it  went  down  before  the  flames  of  1871.  An  elegant 
building,  however,  was  immediately  erected  on  the  site,  and  the  establish- 
ment is  one  of  the  best  equipped  in  the  country.  The  Tribune  Company 
is  now  officered  as  follows:  President,  William  Bross;  Vice  President, 
Joseph  Medill;  Secretary  and  Treasurer,  Alfred  Coles.  Joseph  Medill  is 
editor-in-chief  and  Samuel  J.  Medill  is  managing  editor. 

The  TRIBUNE  has  been  a  constant  advocate  of  Republican  principles, 
except  for  a  short  time  under  the  editorial  management  of  Horace  White, 
when  it  advocated  the  election  of  Horace  Greeley,  the  nominee  of  the 
Democratic  party  for  the  Presidency.  This  course  was  not  satisfactory  to 
the  stockholders,  and  Mr.  Medill,  its  former  editor,  having  retired  upon 
his  election  to  the  Mayoralty  of  the  city,  was  reinstated  and  the  paper 
brought  back  to  its  former  political  position. 

The  TRIBUNE  is  one  of  the  best  paying  newspaper  establishments  in 
the  country,  and  has  a  very  fine  circulation.  It  is  ably  conducted,  and  from 
a  very  small  beginning  has  risen  to  an  enviable  position  of  affluence  and 
influence. 

THE  CHICAGO  TIMES  is  one  of  the  marvels  of  marvelous  Chicago, 
and  the  most  important  and  interesting  portion  of  its  history  is  the  record 
of  the  life  of  its  proprietor,  Wilbur  F.  Storey,  who  has  made  THE  TIMES 
what  it  now  is — a  newspaper  which  is  unsurpassed  in  enterprise  and 
excellence  in  the  journalism  of  America.  Nearly  all  that  need  be  said 
about  THE  TIMES  is  embodied  in  a  biographical  sketch  of  Mr.  Storey's  life,  • 
which  will  be  found  at  the  close  of  this  chapter,  and  which  has  been  care- 
fully prepared  from  data  furnished  by  one  of  his  most  intimate  friends. 
He  is  among  the  very  few  sole  proprietors  of  powerful  newspapers  in  the 
country,  and  is  entitled  to  the  distinction  among  that  few  of  having  created 
the  valuable  establishment  which  he  possesses  and  controls. 

THE  TIMES  was  established  in  1854,  and  was  devoted  to  the  advocacy 
of  the  principles  of  the  Democratic  party,  and  was  the  organ  of  Stephen 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS   DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  389 

A.  Douglas.  Pecuniarily  it  was  an  entire  failure  until  it  fell  into  Mr. 
Storey's  hands.  Among  its  several  proprietors  from  its  first  issue  until 
that  time,  was  the  great  inventor  and  manufacturer,  Cyrus  H.  McCormick. 
Mr.  Storey  purchased  the  paper  in  1861,  and  immediately  inaugurated  a 
policy  which  was  exceedingly  expensive,  but  which  was  sure  to  make  THE 
TIMES  the  great  newspaper  that  it  now  is.  Immediately  upon  the  assump- 
tion of  control,  Mr.  Storey  made  THE  TIMES  a  fearless  and  uncompromising 
journal.  It  attacked  men  and  measures,  whenever  they  deserved  it,  with- 
out fear  or  favor,  and  in  accordance  with  the  true  principles  of  successful 
journalism,  it  has  never  stopped  to  consider  what  the  personal  consequences 
might  be  in  any  expose  or  contest  that  it  essayed  to  make.  For  nearly 
twenty  years  the  management  of  THE  TIMES  has  been  thus  vigorous,  and 
has  placed  the  name  of  its  editor  and  proprietor  among  the  brightest  of 
American  journalists. 

THE  TIMES  continued  Democratic,  until  the  nomination  of  Mr.  Greeley 
by  the  Democracy,  when  it  refused  to  support  the  ticket,  and  ever  since 
has  been  independent  in  politics. 

When  Mr.  Storey  purchased  the  paper,  it  was  printed  upon  a  single 
cylinder  press,  which  was  incapable  of  turning  out  more  than  a  thousand 
an  hour;  it  was  edited  and  printed  in  small  quarters  on  Dearborn  street, 
and  was  in  every  respect  a  very  diminutive  foundation  for  its  present 
greatness.  Now  the  paper  is  printed  upon  eight  presses,  from  each  of 
which  ten  thousand  copies  an  hour  are  delivered,  not  only  printed,  but 
'  folded  and  ready  for  the  perusal  of  the  reader.  When  Mr.  Storey  came 
into  possession,  the  editorial  and  reportorial  force  was  not  even  a  half  dozen 
men;  now  the  editorial,  reportorial  and  clerical  force,  with  special  corres- 
pondents, who  are  in  every  part  of  the  civilized  world,  numbers  over  four 
hundred.  The  annual  expenditure  for  special  telegraphic  dispatches  is 
about  one  hundred  thousand  dollars,  and  it  has  maintained  this  for  years. 
As  the  New  York  HERALD  is  a  monument  to  commemorate  the  life  of 
James  Gordon  Bennett,  so  THE  CHICAGO  TIMES  will  keep  green  the  memo- 
ry of  Wilbur  F.  Storey  long  after  he  has  laid  down  to  sleep  with  the  fathers. 

The  INTER-OCEAN  was  started  by  Jonathan  Young  Scammon,  and  the 
first  number  was  issued  March  25th,  1872.  The  paper  was  built  upon  the  ruins 
of  the  REPUBLICAN,  which  paper  was  unable  to  recover  from  the  fire  of 
1871,  and  Mr.  Scammon  purchased  its  Associated  Press  franchise.  The 
REPUBLICAN  was  published  by  Mr.  Scammon  for  a  short  time,  and  until 
all  arrangements  were  made  for  starting  the  INTER-OCEAN.  With  new  men 
and  new  material  the  first  issue  came  forth  with  the  declaration :  "Indepen- 
dent in  nothing;  Republican  in  everything."  There  was  not  much  to  boast 
of  in  the  first  half  of  its  motto,  and  not  much  intelligence  in  the  other  half. 
But  while  its  motto  indicated  that  it  was  a  slave  to  everything  and  every- 
body, and  that  it  would  be  what  was  impossible  under  very  many 
circumstances,  the  real  intention  was  to  announce  that  in  politics  it  would 
be  stalwart  Republican;  and  that  it  has  been  during  its  entire  existence. 

Mr.  Scammon  was  the   sole  proprietor  of  the  INTER-OCEAN,  until 


290  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

1873,  when  Frank  W.  Palmer,  for  the  last  several  years  Postmaster  of 
Chicago,  purchased  a  considerable  interest,  and  became  the  editor.  The 
paper,  however,  did  not  pay,  and  Mr.  Palmer  was  a  considerable  loser. 
In  1875  the  indebtedness  of  the  concern  forced  a  transfer  of  the  establish- 
ment to  other  parties,  and  this  placed  the  control  of  the  paper  in  the  hands 
of  William  Penn  Nixon. 

The  daily  circulation  of  the  INTER-OCEAN  will  compare  favorably 
with  the  older  dailies,  and  it  has  a  weekly  circulation  of  about  one  hun- 
dred thousand.  It  is  fairly  edited,  is  respectable,  and  is  noted  for  being 
less  sensational  than  very  many  daily  papers  of  the  present  day. 

The  ILLINOIS  STAATS  ZEITUNG,  one  of  the  most  influential  German 
journals  in  the  country,  first  appeared  as  a  weekly  in  the  Spring  of  1848, 
and  was-  published  by  Robert  HoefFgen,  who  started  the  paper  upon  a 
capital  of  two  hundred  dollars.  In  the  Fall  of  1848  Dr.  Hellmuth  became 
the  editor.  After  the  presidential  election  of  that  year,  Dr.  Hellmuth  was 
succeeded  by  Arno  Voss,  who  was  succeeded  in  1849  by  Herman  Kriege. 
In  1850  Dr.  Hellmuth  again  assumed  the  editorial  management,  and  the 
paper  became  a  semi-weekly.  On  the  twenty-fifth  of  August,  1851, 
George  Schneider  became  connected  with  the  paper  and  changed  it  into 
a  daily,  which  had  only  seventy  subscribers,  and  the  weekly  had  only  about 
two  hundred.  George  Hillgaertner  afterward  became  interested  with  Mr. 
Schneider  in  the  publication  of  the  STAATS  ZEITUNG,  and  in  1854  the  . 
circulation  had  increased  to  eight  hundred.  In  1861  William  Rapp  be- 
came the  editor,  but  was  succeeded  in  the  same  year  by  Lorenz  Brentano, 
who  purchased  Mr.  HoefFgen's  interest.  In  the  following  year  the  interest 
of  Mr.  Schneider  was  purchased  by  A.  C.  Hesing.  Brentano  and  Hesing 
were  associated  in  the  publication  of  the  paper  until  1867,  when  Brentano 
sold  his  interest  to  Hesing,  and  Herman  Raster  became  editor-in-chief, 
which  position  he  now  holds. 

The  fire  of  1871  destroyed  the  office  and  material  of  the  paper,  but 
the  paper  appeared  within  forty-eight  hours  after  the  conflagration.  The 
building  now  occupied  by  the  paper  on  the  corner  of  Washington  street 
and  Fifth  avenue  was  built  for  it,  and  first  occupied  on  the  tenth  of  March, 
1872.  The  cost  of  the  building  and  the  material  was  nearly  three  hundred 
thousand  dollars. 

The  STAATS  ZEITUNG  is  now  a  largely  circulated  and  influential 
paper.  It  is  Republican  in  politics,  and  its  influence  is  considered  extremely 
valuable. 

The  CHICAGO  DAILY  NEWS  made  its  first  appearance  on  the  twentieth 
of  December,  1875,  under  the  proprietorship  of  Percy  R.  Meggy,  William 
E.  Dougherty  and  Mellville  E.  Stone.  In  1876  Mr.  Stone  purchased  the 
interests  of  his  other  partners  and  became  sole  proprietor.  In  August  of 
this  year  Victor  F.  Lawson  purchased  an  interest  in  the  paper,  and  bring- 
ing into  the  enterprise  the  necessary  capital,  the  NEWS  has  grown  until  its 
daily  circulation  is  upward  of  fifty  thousand.  The  firm  name  of  the  pub- 
lishers is  Victor  F.  Lawson  &  Company,  Mr.  Lawson  attending  to  the 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  391 

business  details,  and  his  partner,  Mr.  Stone,  managing  the  editorial  depart- 
ment. The  NEWS  is  independent  in  politics,  and  circulating,  as  it  does, 
among  thousands  who  read  nox  other  paper,  it  exerts  an  influence,  which 
to  the  extent  of  that  kind  of  circulation  may  be  characterized  as  something 
near  autocratic. 

Dr.  Rufus  Blanchard's  History  of  Chicago  contains  the  following 
history  of  the  LEGAL  NEWS:  The  CHICAGO  LEGAL  NEWS  is  the  oldest 
weekly  legal  journal  in  the  Western  States.  The  first  number  was  issued 
October  3d,  1868,  by  Myra  Bradwell,  as  editor  and  publisher.  In  Febru- 
ary, 1869,  the  legislature,  by  special  Act,  incorporated  the  editor  and  her 
associates  under  the  title  of  The  Chicago  Legal  News  Company.  Several 
Acts  were  also  passed,  providing  that  all  laws  and  decisions  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  Illinois,  printed  in  this  journal,  should  be  taken  as  prima  facie 
evidence  in  all  the  courts  of  the  State,  and  it  was  declared  to  be  a  good 
and  valid  medium  for  the  publication  of  all  legal  notices. 

As  its  name  implies,  it  is  devoted  mainly  to  legal  matters,  and  pub- 
lishes the  most  important  decisions  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Illinois  in 
advance  of  the  reports;  the  decisions  of  the  District  and  Circuit  Courts  of 
the  United  States;  head  notes  from  the  reports  of  the  various  State  Supreme 
Courts  in  advance  of  the  regular  issues;  abstracts  of  recent  English  cases, 
and  the  latest  general  legal  intelligence. 

The  LEGAL  NEWS  has  been  foremost  in  advocating  reforms  in  the 
laws  of  the  State,  axnd  many  of  the  changes  first  suggested  in  its  columns 
have  received  the  sanction  of  the  legislature. 

The  agricultural  press  of  Chicago  is  in  influence  and  respectability 
at  the  head  of  that  class  of  publications  in  the  country,  and  as  it  includes 
the  journal  upon  which  the  Editor  of  this  book  is  employed,  it  is  due  to 
him  to  say  that  he  is  only  one  of  a  corps  of  editors,  and  that  so  small  a 
figure  does  his  work  cut  in  the  general  make  up  of  the  paper,  that  what 
he  may  say  in  regard  to  THE  WESTERN  RURAL  will  be  absolutely  relieved 
of  any  taint  of  egotism,  but  will  be  the  unprejudiced  judgment  of  one 
man  upon  the  merits  and  success  of  his  fellows. 

THE  WESTERN  RURAL  was  brought  into  existence  at  Detroit,  Mich- 
igan, on  the  third  of  September,  1864,  and  almost  immediately  sprung  into 
popular  favor  and  the  exercise  of  a  commanding  influence.  There  was  not 
at  that  time  near  the  degree  of  enterprise  upon  the  part  of  the  daily 
press  which  it  now  shows,  and  such  a  thing  as  an  agricultural  department 
in  the  weekly  editions  of  the  dailies  was  unknown.  An  agricultural  paper, 
therefore,  if  conducted  with  even  moderate  ability,  had  an  unobstructed 
pathway  to  success.  The  founder  of  the  paper  knew  practically  nothing 
about  agriculture,  and  in  some  other  respects  was  disqualified  for  building 
up  a  great  agricultural  journal.  Still  under  the  favorable  circumstances 
which  surrounded  the  enterprise,  among  which  was  the  encoiu'agement  of 
the  pi-ess — which  as  then  conducted  could  afford  to  give  encouragement — the 
undertaking  was  crowned  with  the  most  unmistakable  victory.  It  was  not 
much  of  a  paper  in  its  beginning,  in  whatever  light  it  may  be  looked  at} 


292  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

and  the  files  of  the  earlier  volumes  are  preserved  only   because  they  are 
the  infancy  of  the  stalwart  maturity  which  has  since  been  attained. 

Beginning  life  at  Detroit,  the  original  intention  was  undoubtedly  to 
furnish  a  farm  paper  for  Michigan  alone,  but  the  entire  West  appeared 
to  want  some  kind  of  a  change  in  agricultural  literature,  and  the  circula- 
tion Westward  seemed  to  demand  the  establishment  of  an  office  in 
Chicago,  and  the  general  patronage  of  the  paper  warranted  its  enlargement. 
The  paper  was  consequently  enlarged  in  -July,  1865,  and  in  December  of 
the  same  year  its  publication  was  commenced  at  Chicago  and  Detroit 
simultaneously.  In  1866  it  was  found  necessary  to  make  the  Chicago  office 
the  principal  publishing  office,  and  on  January  jd,  1867,  the  paper  was 
issued  with  Chicago  as  the  place  of  publication,  a  branch  office  being 
maintained  at  Detroit.  The  branch  office  was  finally  discontinued,  and 
since  then  the  paper  has  had  its  home  exclusively  at  Chicago. 

With  other  great  publications,  the  office  and  material  of  the  paper 
were  wiped  out  of  existence  by  the  fire  of  1871,  and  that  catastrophe,  to- 
gether with  defective  management,  was  more  than  the  concern  was 
able  to  bear  up  under.  The  publisher  established  himself  on  the  West 
Side,  and  the  paper  was  issued  regularly,  but  its  course  financially  was  from 
bad  to  worse,  until,  so  far  as  its  founder  and  publisher  was  concerned,  it 
collapsed.  During  the  time  of  the  paper's  greatest  misfortunes,  Milton 
George,  a  farmer  of  Fulton  county,  Illinois,  was  induced  from  time  to 
time  to  loan  money  to  the  publisher  of  the  paper,  until  the  aggregate  was 
over  seventeen  thousand  dollars.  In  the  Spring  of  1866  the  troubles  of  the 
publisher  culminated  in  the  sale  of  the  paper  and  material  under  foreclosure 
of  a  chattel  mortgage,  and  Garrett  L.  Hoodless  became  the  purchaser  and 
publisher.  For  some  reason,  however,  the  original  mortgage  was  not 
canceled,  and  in  addition  to  it  a  further  incumbrance  was  placed  upon  the 
concern  in  the  shape  of  a  mortgage  given  by  Mr.  Hoodless.  Mr.  George 
was  naturally  anxious  to  get  possession  of  the  paper,  in  order,  if  possible, 
to  recover  the  losses  he  had  suffered,  and  to  this  end,  and  with  a  view  of 
having  all  the  circumstances  of  the  sale  under  the  mortgage  explained,  he 
applied  to  the  United  States  District  Court,  in  which  the  former  publisher 
had  filed  proceedings  in  bankruptcy,  for  an  injunction  to  prevent  Mr. 
Hoodless  from  disposing  of  the  paper,  and  also  filed  a  bill  asking  that  the 
sale  might  be  set  aside.  The  injunction  was  granted,  and  affairs  remained 
in  that  condition  until  July  ist,  1876,  when  Mr.  George  purchased  the  two 
mortgages  upon  the  paper  and  took  possession  under  them,  proceeding 
immediately  to  take  steps  toward  their  foreclosure.  Before  the  day  of  sale 
arrived,  however,  an  agreement  was  effected  with  Mr.  Hoodless  by  which 
he  transferred  his  equity  to  Mr.  George,  and  the  foreclosure  became  un- 
necessary. In  the  following  Spring  the  United  States  Court  confirmed 
the  sale,  and  the  title  became  complete. 

The  paper  was  now  owned  and  published  by  Milton  George,  but  just 
how  valuable  the  concern  was,  was  a  matter  of  considerable  doubt.  There 
were  debts  amounting  to  thousands  of  dollars,  which  for  the  good  of  the 


CHICAGO*  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  293 

paper  must  be  liquidated,  and  under  all  the  circumstances  it  is  doubtful  if 
a  newspaper  man  could  have  been  found  willing  to  give  ten  thousand  dol- 
lars for  the  establishment.  Mr.  George,  however,  went  to  work  to  release 
the  concern  from  its  indebtedness,  and  with  energy  and  perseverance,  which 
are  among  the  most  prominent  traits  of  his  character,  met  and  triumphed 
over  the  many  difficulties  that  beset  his  path.  He  imbued  every  depart- 
ment of.  the  paper  with  new  life,  and  made  it  outspoken  as  an  advocate  of 
the  farmer's  interests  and  upon  all  public  questions.  Never  since  he  has 
been  its  proprietor,  has  any  question  of  policy  been  allowed  to  influence 
the  tone  of  its  editorials.  "Find  out  what  is  right,  and  then  go  ahead,  let 
the  consequences  be  what  they  may,"  is  the  rule  established  by  Mr.  George 
for  the  guidance  of  his  editorial  corps.  In  the  business  department  the 
same  standard  of  honesty  and  honor  is  adhered  to.  No  advertising  which 
is  not  strictly  straight  can  secure  admission  to  the  columns  of  the  paper, 
whatever  prospect  of  pecuniary  gain  may  be  sacrificed. 

THE  WESTERN  RURAL  from  the  very  first  of  Mr.  George's  assump- 
tion of  control  has  been  a  leading  and  influential  advocate  of  what  is 
popularly  called  Cheap  Transportation,  or  strict  government  control  of 
railroads.  The  paper  has  done  a  mighty  work  in  this  cause,  and  has 
aroused  the  farming  community  to  action  all  over  the  country. 

The  paper  occupies  fine  and  commodious  quarters  on  Dearborn  street, 
next  to  the  Journal  building,  is  valued  at  from  forty  thousand  to  fifty 
thousand  dollars,  and  is  a  monument  to  its  publisher's  enterprise,  tact  and 
straightforward  business  career. 

The  PRAIRIE  FARMER  was  established  in  January,  1841.  It  was 
edited  by  John  S.  Wright,  and  published  monthly  under  the  auspices  of 
the  Union  Agricultural  Society,  which  was  incorporated  February  ipth, 
1839.  The  name  of  the  paper  in  full  was  THE  UNION  AGRICULTURIST 
AND  WESTERN  PRAIRIE  FARMER.  In  form  it  was  a  small  quarto  of 
four  columns.  THE  ILLINOIS  FARMER,  established  the  year  before  at 
Springfield,  Illinois,  by  C.  M.  Polk,  was  merged  in  the  PR'AIRIE  FARMER, 
or  THE  UNION  AGRICULTURIST,  as  it  was  then  more  generally 
called. 

In  later  files  the  Union  Agricultural  Society  disappears  from  the 
imprimatur,  and  the  publication  is  under  the  individual  control  of  John  S. 
Wright,  with  whom  J.  Ambrose  Wight  was  associated  as  editor.  While 
the  size  of  the  page  is  reduced  the  scope  seems  to  have  been  enlarged,  for 
it  assumed  to  be  a  journal  of  Western  Agriculture,  Mechanics  and 
Education,  with  John  Gage  as  the  editor  of  the  mechanical  department. 
The  office  of  publication  was  first  at  112  Lake  street,  and  later  at  171 
the  same  street. 

It  continued  as  a  monthly  until  the  latter  part  of  1855,  when  it  began 
to  be  issued  as  a  weekly.  On  the  first  of  October,  1858,  the  publication 
was  assumed  by  Emery  &  Company,  who  continued  to  issue  the  paper 
from  204  Lake  street,  having  merged  in  it  EMERY'S  JOURNAL  OF  AGRI- 
CULTURE. Its  scope  still  more  enlarged,  it  professed  itself  to  be  devoted 


294  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

to  Agriculture,  Horticulture,  Mechanics,  Education,  Home  Interests,  Gen- 
eral News,  Markets,  etc. 

In  the  Spring  of  1867  a  charter  was  obtained,  and  thenceforward  it 
was  published  by  the  Prairie  Farmer  Company.  At  this  time  it  was  a 
small  quarto  of  three  columns  and  sixteen  pages.  In  1868  the  form  was 
changed  to  that  of  a  five  column  large  quarto  of  eight  pages,  and  in  1869 
a  further  enlargement  took  place,  making  the  present  form  of  eight  pages 
and  six  columns  to  the  page. 

In  May,  1870,  its  new  building  at  112  Monroe  street  was  occupied.  In 
connection  with  the  publication  of  the  paper  a  well  equipped  printing 
office  was  set  up,  and  an  era  of  prosperity  seemed  to  have  been  inaugurated. 
The  next  important  incident  in  the  life  of  the  paper  was  the  fire  of  October, 
1871.  From  this  disaster  little  beside  the  subscription  books  was  saved; 
but  the  indestructible  good  will  of  the  paper  remained,  and  without  missing 
a  single  issue  the  PRAIRIE  FARMER  appeared  regularly  for  a  season  from 
a  temporary  office  of  publication  on  West  Randolph  street.  The  office 
was  next  moved  to  674  Wabash  avenue,  and  the  paper  was  published 
from  there  until  1873,  when  the  present  commodious  quarters  at  118  Mon- 
roe street  were  occupied. 

Through  all  changes  of  residence  and  vicissitudes  of  fortune  the.  tone 
of  the  paper  has  not  altered  in  any  respect.  •  During  its  life  it  has  employed 
a  variety  of  talent  of  no  mean  order  of  merit,  and  it  has  been  in  some 
sense  a  training  school  of  literary  ability  that  has  blossomed  out  in  other 
fields  than  that  of  agricultural  journalism. 

With  the  marvelous  extension  of  agricultural  industry  throughout  the 
Northwest  and  South,  during  the  past  few  years,  the  PRAIRIE  FARMER 
has  endeavored  to  keep  pace,  and  while  the  quantity  of  its  matter  can  in 
no  wise  keep  pace  with  the  area  of  cultivation,  in  spirit  and  quality  of 
contents  it  has  aimed  to  represent  and  encourage  the  enterprise  which  has 
made  this  blooming  Western  agricultural  empire  a  possibility  and  a  fact. 

The  RELIGIO-PHILOSOPHICAL  JOURNAL  is  an  exponent  of  modern  • 
spiritualism  primarily,  but  includes  within  its  scope  the  arts  and  sciences, 
literature  and  general  reform.  It  was  established  in  1865  by  the  Religio- 
Philosophical  Publishing  Association,  a  corporation  whose  charter  con- 
tained almost  unlimited  powers.  Stevens  S.  Jones  was  the  originator 
of  the  undertaking,  and  drew  the  bill  and  secured  the  passage  of  the  Act  of 
incorporation  by  the  legislature  of  Illinois.  The  Association  bought  the 
printing  office  of  J.  S.  Thompson,  located  at  84,  86  and  88  Dearborn 
street,  and  with  the  additions  made  to  the  establishment  it  was  the  finest 
office  west  of  Buffalo  for  general  job  printing  and  book  work.  The  first 
number  of  the  RELIGIO-PHILOSOPHICAL  JOURNAL  was  dated  August 
26th,  1865.  The  regular  weekly  publication  began  with  the  issue  of  the 
second  number,  October  7th,  1865.  Mr.  Jones  was  the  editor  of  the  paper, 
as  well  as  the  President  of  the  Association,  and  bent  all  his  energies,  aided 

*  O  7 

by  the  experience  of  a  long  and   successful   business   career,  to   increasing 
the  strength  of  the  corporation  and  the  circulation  of  the  paper  and  other 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  295 

publications.  So  far  as  human  foresight  could  predict,  the  Association 
was  already  firmly  established  and  on  the  high  road  to  great  power  and 
influence.  It  had  within  it,  however,  the  seeds  of  death.  The  stock- 
holders and  directors  were  all  ignorant  of  the  business,  and,  therefore,  easily 
worked  upon  by  designing  men  anxious  to  get  the  control  of  so  promising 
an  enterprise.  The  result  was  that  at  the  annual  election  of  officers  on 
November  2^th,  1866,  a  complete  change  in  the  management  was  accom- 
plished. Mr.  Jones  went  out  of  office  and,  as  was  soon  demonstrated,  a 
set  of  inexperienced  and  irresponsible  men  gained  control.  A  politician, 
then  a  member  of  the  State  legislature,  became  President  of  the  Associ- 
ation. He  secured  an  amendment  to  the  charter  changing  the  name  of  the 
corporation.  The  name  of  the  paper  was  also  changed.  In  less  than  a 
year  the  concern  was  bankrupt,  and  one  of  the  directors,  who  was  also  the 
largest  creditor,  and  held  a  mortgage  on  the  property,  appealed  to  Mr.  Jones 
to  come  forward  and  save  the  institution  and  help  him  out  of  his  perplex- 
ities. But  it  was  too  late  to  save  the  Association  which  with  its  splendid 
charter  and  prospects  passed  into  oblivion.  Mr.  Jones  now  busied  himself 
with  efforts  to  resuscitate  the  paper  under  its  original  name,  and  in  a  short 
time  re-issued  the  RELIGIO-PHILOSOPHICAL  JOURNAL. 

At  first  the  director  and  mortgagee  of  the  old  concern,  hereinbefore 
referred  to,  was  associated  with  Mr.  Jones  in  the  revival  of  the  paper,  but 
getting  discouraged,  at  the  constant  excess  of  expenditures  over  receipts,  he 
declined  to  meet  his  share  of  the  expenses  and  withdrew.  The  unfortunate 
history  of  the  first  attempt  and  the  necessity  of  supplying  to  subscribers 
the  paper  for  their  unexpired  subscriptions  made  its  publication  any- 
thing but  an  easy  or  promising  undertaking,  but  with  undaunted  faith 
in  its  ultimate  success  the  editor  and  proprietor  toiled  on.  Time  proved 
his  faith  well  founded.  The  great  fire  found  the  paper  in  a  fairly  pros- 
perous condition,  and  in  a  few  hours  swept  out  of  existence  twenty  thousand 
dollars'  worth  of  property  belonging  to  the  office,  on  which  only  fifteen 
dollars  of  insurance  was  ever  recovered.  Nothing  was  saved  but  the  mail 
list  and  account  books.  The  office  was  burned  on  Sunday  night,  but  on  Tues- 
day morning  the  paper,  in  diminutive  form,  was  issued  from  a  little  office 
on  the  West  Side.  Twenty-five  girls  were  set  to  work  mailing  the  edition, 
and  before  the  embers  of  the  old  office  had  cooled  thousands  of  subscribers 
throughout  the  country  were  reading  with  painful  emotions  the  little  sheet. 
Borrowing  money  to  pay  traveling  expenses  to  New  York,  the  proprietor 
started  for  a  new  outfit.  The  next  issue  was  printed  in  Philadelphia,  and 
after  four  issues  in  reduced  form,  the  paper  appeared  in  its  original  size  of 
eight  pages,  five  columns  to  the  page.  Money  poured  in  from  all  quarters 
for  subscriptions.  Offers  of  donations  aggregating  more  than  the  total 
loss  were  thankfully  declined.  The  paper  now  steadily  and  rapidly  grew 
in  prosperity  and  when  the  hard  times  came  on  its  circulation  was  prob- 
ably larger  than  all  other  similar  papers  combined.  Without  the  machinery 
of  organization  which  so  largely  helps  to  sustain  religious  papers  of  the 
various  sects,  and  despite  the  hard  times,  the  JOURNAL  has  maintained  its 


• 


296  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

position,  and  the  credit  of  the  office  is  unsurpassed  by  that  of  any  paper  in 
the  city.  On  the  fifteenth  of  March,  1877,  S.  S.Jones,  the  editor  and  pro- 
prietor, was  assassinated  by  an  insane  man  under  peculiarly  distressing 
circumstances.  Predictions  were  freely  made  both  by  spiritualists  and 
non-spiritualists  that  the  paper  would  now  go  down.  Associated  with  the 
business  for  many  years  as  business  manager  was  Colonel  John  C.  Bundy. 
This  gentleman  proved  himself  fully  equal  to  the  emergency.  Out  of 
seeming  disaster  to  the  concern  he  has  with  consummate  skill  and  magnifi- 
cent nerve  wrested  a  greater  victory  for  the  paper  than  is  probably 
chronicled  in  the  history  of  journalism. 

The  RELIGIO-PHILOSOPHICAL  JOURNAL  is  now  owned  and  edited 
by  Colonel  Bundy.  Always  independent  and  aggressive  it  has  under  its 
later  management  been  characterized  by  such  a  candid  spirit  and  close  ana- 
lytical method  of  investigating  what  is  claimed  as  spiritual  phenomena, 
that  it  now  stands  as  the  highest  authority,  and  is  respected  and  accepted 
as  such  not  only  by  intelligent  spiritualists,  but  by  the  non-spiritualistic 
public.  For  three  years  the  paper  has  waged  unceasing  warfare  upon 
the  fraudulent  and  tricky  mediums  who  have  infested  the  movement. 
To  the  non-sectarian,  impartial,  independent,  critical  and  scientific  policy 
of  the  paper  spiritualism  owes  a  great  deal. 

Until  about  a  year  since  the  subscription  price  was  three  dollars  and 
fifteen  cents  per  year;  it  was  then  reduced  to  two  dollars  and  a  half.  The 
office  of  publication  and  editorial  rooms  are  located  in  the  Merchants' 
building,  situated  on  the  northwest  corner  of  LaSalle  and  Washington 
streets. 


297 


WILBUR  F.  STOREY. 

Among  that  limited  class  of  men  who  are  not  content  to  be  simply  with 
the  advance  of  the  enterprises  in  which  they  are  engaged,  but  who  enact 
the  role  of  leaders  ;  who  are  the  Columbuses  of  the  world  of  effort, 
Wilbur  F.  Storey,  the  editor  and  proprietor  of  THE  CHICAGO  TIMES, 
occupies  a  conspicuous  position.  A  complete  analysis  of  his  motives,  and 
his  entire  intellectual  life,  would  be  of  the  highest  value  to  aspirants  who 
are  ambitious  to  create,  to  lead  public  opinion;  to  reshape  existing  systems ; 
and  to  leave  mankind  better,  and  more  advanced  for  their  having  lived.  Such 
an  examination  is,  in  the  present  case,  an  impossibility;  the  most  that  can 
be  done  is  to  give  an  outline  of  his  life  and  labors,  and  leave  inferences  to 
those  who  have  the  leisure  and  the  inclination  to  construct  them. 

Mr.  Storey  was  born  December  ipth,  1819,  at  Salisbury,  Vermont.  He 
is  a  descendant  of  the  -Storey  family,  the  principal  of  whom  has  made  his 
name  immortal  by  his  contributions  to  the  judicial  literature  not  merely  of 
this  country,  but  of  the  entire  world.  Although  the  editor  of  THE  CHICAGO 
TIMES  has  never  given  prolonged  attention  to  the  study  of  law,  he,  never- 
theless, through  heredity,  possesses  a  fine  judicial  sense,  which  is  in- 
cessantly brought  into  exhibition  in  the  administration  of  the  extended 
and  complicated  enterprise  of  which  he  is  the  head  and  the  director. 

During  his  boyhood,  Mr.  Storey  attended  the  common  school,  and 
it  was  there  that  began  and  ended  all  the  rudimentary  education  which  he 
has  ever  received.  At  the  age  of  twelve  years  he  entered  the  office  of 
the  Middlebury  FREE  PRESS,  in  order  to  learn  the  trade  of  a  printer. 
This  step  was  a  most  wise  one,  as  has  again  and  again  been  proved  in  the 
course  of  his  journalistic  career,  for  it  gave  him  a  knowledge  of  the  very 
foundation  of  his  profession;  and  has  enabled  him  to  conceive  and  to  give 
shape  to  radical  improvements  in  the  typography  of  his  newspaper,  which, 
in  many  respects,  have  become  the  rule  with  many  of  the  leading  journals 
of  the  country. 

In  1836  he  went  to  New  York  city,  and  for  one  and  a  half  years 
was  a  compositor  on  THE  JOURNAL  OF  COMMERCE,  then  edited  by  Gerard 
Hallock.  People  who  knew  him  at  this  period  of  his  life  say  that  he 
was  mainly  remarkable  for  his  close  attention  to  his  "case,"  his  accuracy 
and  rapidity  as  a  compositor,  and  for  a  very  marked  reticence  and  self- 
reliance.  After  having  worked  at  the  "case"  for  about  two  years,  he 
aspired  to  become  a  journalist,  and  removed  to  LaPorte,  Indiana,  where 


298  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

he  started  a  paper,  called  THE  LAPORTE  DEMOCRAT,  and  which  was  pub- 
lished in  the  interests  of  the  democracy ;  and  subsequently  he  published  a 
paper  in  Mishawauka,  Indiana,  of  the  same  persuasion. 

In  1841  he  removed  to  Jackson,  Michigan,  where  he  published  THE 
PATRIOT;  and,  at  the  same  time  was  postmaster,  and  the  proprietor  of  a 
drugstore.  He  was  elected  a  member  of  the  constitutional  convention 
which  met  at  Lansing  in  1850,  and  at  which  was  framed  the  excellent 
organic  law  which  that  State  now  enjoys.  In  1854  there  was  afforded  an 
opportunity  for  him  to  secure  an  interest  in  THE  FREE  PRESS,  of  Detroit^ 
a  democratic  daily,  and  which  was  then  in  a  moribund  condition.  He 
obtained  a  controlling  interest  in  it,  which  he  held  until  his  removal  to 
Chicago,  in  1861.  Under  his  management  THE  FREE  PRESS  rapidly  rose 
to  be  the  leading  journal  west  of  New  York,  which  improvement  was 
wholly  due  to  the  genius  of,  and  personal  attention  bestowed  upon  it  by 
the  new  proprietor.  He  gave  every  part  of  it  his  personal  supervision; 
and  was  so  incessant  in  his  labor  that,  in  a  majority  of  instances,  after 
watching  the  paper  going  to  press,  he  would,  after  a  sleep  of  three  or  four 
hours,  begin  the  work  of  the  next  day.  Such  assiduity>  backed  by  a  bound- 
less ambition,  and  excellent  judgment,  could  have  but  one  result,  that  of 
success;  and  this  he  attained  to  an  extraordinary  extent. 

It  was  only  that  Detroit  offered  too-narrow  a  field  for  his  enterprise 
wnich  led  him  to  think  of  changing  his  location.  Chicago  seemed  the 
point  which  gave  promise  of  an  unlimited  expansion ;  and,  in  consequence, 
in  April,  1 86 1,  having  purchased  THE  TIMES  for  thirty  thousand  dollars, 
he  removed  to  this  city. 

Having  become  possessed  of  THE  TIMES,  and  feeling  assured  that 
he  was  now  in  a  field  sufficiently  expanded  to  meet  his  ambition,  Mr. 
Storey  at  once  began  to  lay  the  foundation  of  the  colossal  enterprise  of 
which  he  is  now  the  possessor  and  manager.  For  many  years  he  was  the 
hardest  worker  in  THE  TIMES  establishment,  giving  his  personal  atten- 
tion to  every  detail,  whether  in  the  mechanical  or  literary  departments. 
The  history  of  THE  TIMES  from  his  control  of  it  to  the  present  day  is  sub- 
stantially the  history  of  Mr.  Storey  himself  with  reference  to  his  ambition, 
his  management,  his  executive  ability,  and  his  boundless  enterprise. 

From  a  sheet  printed  on  a  press  with  a  single  cylinder,  and  which  was 
a  dead  loss  to  its  multifarious  proprietors  before  it  came  into  the  possession 
of  Mr.  Storey,  it  has  now  six  double  presses  which  throw  off  .ind  fold  the 
printed  sheet  at  the  rate  of  one  hundred  thousand  an  hour;  which  has  every 
appliance  that. can  be  afforded  by  steam,  electricity,  compressed  air  and  the 
like,  and  which  is  second  to  no  other  journal  in  the  world  in  the  complete- 
ness of  its  mechanical  agencies,  and  its  organization  for  the  collection  and 
the  distribution  of  news. 

In  personal  appearance  Mr.  Storey  is  a  very  marked  man.  He  is  six 
feet  in  height,  erect,  with  a  figure  which  yet  shows  the  elegant  outlines 
characteristic  of  his  early  and  middle  life.  His  head  is  a  grand  one,  and  is 
covered  by  a  mass  of  white  hair  which,  added  to  his  white  flowing  beard,. 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  299 

gives  him  a  dignity  like  that  which  one  associates  with  the  patriarchs  of 
the  senate  in  Rome's  palmiest  days.  His  features  are  strong  without  being 
harsh;  his  eyes  are  large,  dark-brown,  and  full  of  a  light  which  is  at  once 
brilliant,  and  yet  kindly,  with  a  suggestion  of  melancholy.  In  his  ordinary 
intercourse,  Mr.  Storey  is  rather  reserved,  although  fluent  in  utterance 
when  he  is  once  fully  possessed  by  his  theme.  He  is  rapid  in  his  decisions, 
and  is  not  so  obstinate  as  to  be  unwilling  to  reverse  a  conclusion  when  con- 
vinced that  such  a  course  is  the  right  one.  As  a  writer,  he  is  not  a  rapid 
one;  but  he  possesses  in  a  remarkable  degree  the  power  of  concentrating 
his  ideas — of  giving  to  every  word  of  his  manuscript  a  marvelous  fullness 
and  intensity  of  meaning.  For  many  years  it  was  his  pen  that  gave 
character  to  THE  TIMES  and  secured  for  it  a  reputation  for  vigor,  earnest- 
ness, originality  of  thought  .and  expression,  in  which  there  are  few  equals, 
and  no  superiors. 

In  his  private  life,  Mr.  Storey  is  genial  and  affable  in  the  highest 
degree.  As  a  host  who  knows  how  to  manage  a  conversation,  to  place 
each  at  his  ease ;  who  has  a  most  exquisite  taste  for,  and  knowledge  of,  the 
secrets  of  the  cuisine  as  well  as  of  all  the  other  details  connected  with  artistic 
dining,  he  occupies  an  unrivaled  position.  His  tastes  are  of  the  highest  order ; 
and  he  surrounds  himself  with  a  profusion  of  bric-a-brac  rarities,  pictures, 
statuary,  and  such  other  things  as  gratify  the  eye,  and  harmonize  with 
an  elevated  dilettantetism.  He  is  possessed  of  a  wonderful  vitality,  and 
has,  in  the  natural  course  of  events,  many  years  in  which  to  gratify  his 
tastes,  and  to  enjoy  the  princely  fortune  which  he  has  accumulated. 


300 


WILLIAM   BROSS. 


William  Bross,  Ex-Lieutenant-Governor  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  is 
so  closely  identified  with  the  history  of  Chicago,  that  any  work  upon  the 
rise  and  progress  of  the  great  Western  metropolis,  would  be  conspicuously 
imperfect  without  a  sketch  of  his  life.  Chicago  owes  its  greatness  and 
fame  to  the  enterprise,  industry  and  principle  which  have  crystalized  to 
make  such  symmetrical  and  robust  characters  as  are  represented  by  that 
of  the  subject  of  this  sketch — characters  that  are  firm  in  the  midst  of  per- 
sonal or  public  adversity,  and  well  balanced  in  the  midst  of  personal  or 
public  prosperity.  Among  this  class  of  our  citizenship  Mr.  Bross  has 
long  occupied  an  exalted  and  universally  recognized  position;  and  because 
of  such  position  his  name  has  become  familiar  not  only  in  this  city  and 
State  but  throughout  the  country. 

William  Bross  is  the  eldest  son  of  Deacon  Moses  Bross  and  Jane 
Winfield,  and  was  born  in  Sussex  county,  New  Jersey,  November  4th, 
1813.  The  house  in  which  he  was  born  at  that  early  date  of  our  national 
history,  was  an  old  log  structure  which  stood  upon  a  romantic  spot  which 
Sontag  deemed  of  sufficient  interest  for  transfer  upon  the  artist's  canvas. 
After  the  first  nine  years  of  his  life — which  were  spent  in  his  native 
county — he  accompanied  his  family  to  Milford,  Pennsylvania,  where  he 
remained  until  he  obtained  his  majority.  His  parents  possessed  the 
remarkable  force  of  character  which  has  always  distinguished  our  subject, 
and  were  alert  to  take  advantage  of  every  opportunity  to  improve  their 
own  fortunes  or  to  advance  the  prosperity  of  society.  In  their  new  home 
in  Pennsylvania,  therefore,  Deacon  Bross  early  sought  not  only  the 
chances  for  personal  benefit,  but  looked  closely  to  public  interests;  and  in 
accordance  with  this  latter  view  of  duty,  was  very  influential  in  organ- 
izing, in  1825,  the  Presbyterian  church  in  Milford,  the  church  of  which 
he  had  long  been  a  member,  and  even  a  Deacon  before  the  recollection 
of  our  subject. 

When  the  construction  of  the  Delaware  and  Hudson  Canal  was 
begun,  the  enterprise  of  Deacon  Bross  at  once  suggested  an  opening  for 
personal  advantage,  and  acting  upon  his  judgment,  he  entered  upon  the 
lumbering  business  near  Shohola,  in  Pike  county,  Pennsylvania,  and 
furnished  the  timber  for  the  locks  and  bottoms  for  a  good  portion  of  the 
canal.  In  these  lumbering  operations  our  subject  was  a  companion  of 
his  father,  and  indeed  labored  with  the  ax  in  the  woods  for  many  months. 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  301 

To  these  primitive  times,  and  to  the  benefit  he  derived  from  such  experi- 
ence, he  attributes  much  of  his  success  in  life.  It  developed  him  physically 
and  thus  laid  the  foundation  for  a  mental  strain  which  long  since  would 
have  wrecked  a  weaker  physical  organization. 

In  1832  he  entered  Milford  Academy,  under  the  Principalship  of 
Reverend  Edward  Allen;  and  two  years  later  began  a  collegiate  course 
of  study  at  Williams  College,  graduating  with  honor  from  this  institution 
in  1838.  Leaving  college  under  an  indebtedness  of  six  hundred  dollars, 
which  he  had  incurred  for  educational  purposes,  his  first  object  of  life  was 
to  discharge  this  obligation,  and  his  first  earnings  were  appropriated  to 
this  end.  The  pathway  of  the  young  man  was  neither  smooth  nor  flowery, 
but  with  that  unflinching  courage  and  unconquerable  determination  which 
have  been  the  prominent  features  of  his  long  and  busy  life,  he  surmounted 
every  difficulty  and  became  an  acknowledged  victor.  A  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury after  stepping  from  college  into  active  life,  he  had  reached  the  summit 
of  distinction,  and  was  one  of  the  most  conspicuous  stars  in  the  brilliant 
galaxy  which  shed  such  luster  upon  the  name  of  Old  Williams.  In  1866 
the  graduate  of  twenty-eight  years  before,  delivered  the  address  before 
the  distinguished  Alumni  of  the  college. 

For  several  years  Mr.  Bross  devoted  himself  to  the  duties  of  a  teacher, 
becoming  the  principal  of  Ridgebury  Academy,  near  his  birthplace,  in 
1838,  and  afterward  teaching  at  Chester  for  five  years.  Being  a  thorough 
classical  student,  a  diligent  student  of  the  Natural  Sciences  and  of  Natural 
History,  his  career  as  a  teacher  was  marked  by  eminent  success,  and  many 
of  his  pupils,  who  have  since  attained  prominence,  can  attribute  their 
success  very  largely  to  the  early  training  which  they  received  under  Mr. 
Bross. 

Besides  his  other  educational  attainments  he  was  very  proficient  in 
historical  research,  and  a  constant  student  of  history,  especially  American 
history.  This  prompted  a  desire  for  a  more  intimate  acquaintance  with 
the  American  continent,  and  in  October,  1846,  he  started  upon  a  Western 
tour,  visiting  Chicago,  St.  Louis  and  other  Western  cities.  Chicago, 
although  then  of  apparently  little  importance,  had  its  future  correctly  esti- 
mated by  his  superior  judgment,  and  he  decided  to  make  it  his  home. 
Returning  East,  he  settled  up  his  business  matters,  and  returned  to  the 
then  literal  Garden  City,  arriving  here  on  the  twelfth  of  May,  1848,  and 
at  once  opening  in  this  city  the  bookselling  house  of  Griggs,  Bross  & 
Company,  the  firm  being  composed  of  S.  C.  Griggs,  William  Bross,  and 
the  house  of  Newman  &  Company,  of  New  York.  The  great  book 
house  of  Jansen,  McClurg  &  Company  is  the  outgrowth  or  rather  the 
development  of  the  original  enterprise.  E.  L.  Jansen,  the  youngest 
brother  of  Mrs.  Bross,  has  been  for  many  years  the  leading  member  of 
this  firm. 

In  the  Autumn  of  1849,  Mr.  Bross,  in  connection  with  Reverend  Dr. 
J.  A.  Wight,  now  of  Bay  City,  Michigan,  commenced  the  publication  of 
the  PRAIRIE  HERALD.  After  publishing  this  journal  for  some  two  years, 


302  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

with  only  moderate  success,  he  and  John  L.  Scripps  began  the  publication 
of  the  DEMOCRATIC  PRESS,  the  first  number  of  which  was  issued  Septem- 
ber i6th,  1852,  with  a  list  of  about  one  hundred  subscribers  to  the  daily 
and  two  hundred  and  fifty  to  the  weekly.  Messrs.  Scripps  &  Bross 
determined  to  make  the  PRESS  a  good  commercial  and  statistical  paper  to 
the  end  that  the  world  might  be  impressed  with  the  present  and  inevitable 
future  importance  of  Chicago  and  the  West.  Feeling  that  all  that  was 
necessary  to  make  the  conclusion  that  the  city  and  great  section  of  country 
must  become  what  they  have  since  become,  irresistible,  was  to  spread  the 
facts  before  the  public,  Mr.  Bross  bent  himself  to  the  study  of  the  resources 
of  the  region,  and  then  carefully  prepared  and  published  a  description 
of  them  in  his  paper,  with  a  result  that  was  most  beneficial  to  the  city 
and  section. 

The  PRESS,  however,  was  something  more  than  a  commercial  journal. 
As  its  name  would  indicate,  it  was  also  political  in  character,  being  con- 
servatively Democratic,  and  was  especially  opposed  to  what  was  then 
considered  intense  abolition  doctrines,  as  advocated  by  John  Wentworth. 
When  Mr.  Douglas  introduced  his  bill  to  repeal  the  Missouri  Compromise, 
he  was  ably  opposed  by  the  new  paper,  which  probably  operated  more 
powerfully  against  him  in  the  discussion  of  the  Nebraska  question  than 
any  other  influence  that  was  brought  to  bear.  But  the  PRESS  did  not 
long  continue  a  Democratic  paper.  When  the  Republican  party  was 
formed  in  the  Fall  of  1854,  Mr.  Bross  at  once  identified  himself  with 
it,  and  labored  earnestly  and  eloquently  with  voice  and  pen  to  advance 
its  interests.  On  the  evening  of  the  same  day  on  which  John  C.  Fremont 
was  nominated  for  the  presidency,  Mr.  Bross  made  his  first  political  speech 
at  a  ratification  meeting  assembled  in  Dearborn  Park,  and  that  was  the  first 
endorsement  of  the  nomination  in  the  West.  Since  then  he  has  acquired 
the  enviable  reputation  of  being  always  ready  to  take  the  stump,  where 
the  opposition  was  the  strongest,  in  behalf  of  the  party  which  he  believes 
is  the  party  of  liberty  and  progress. 

But  in  the  midst  of  all  his  multitudinous  duties,  then  or  since  devolv- 
ing upon  him,  he  never  forgot  the  best  interests  of  Chicago.  Indefatigable 
in  research,  he  was  always  busy  seeking  for  facts  and  statistics  which 
would  attract  public  attention  to  the  empire  city  of  the  West;  and  so 
numerous  and  important  were  the  results  of  his  search,  that  they  were 
not  only  embodied  in  newspaper  articles,  but  were  also  published  in 
pamphlet  form.  The  first  of  these  pamphlets  was  issued  in  1854,  and 
contained  a  full  description  of  the  railroad  system  which  had  been  pro- 
jected, and  also  a  comprehensive  history  of  the  city  from  its  origin  to  that 
time,  together  with  a  review  of  its  trade  and  commerce  for  the  year. 
This  pamphlet  was  widely  read  both  in  the  East  and  in  Europe,  and  the 
series  of  annual  summaries  by  Mr.  Bross,  which  followed  this  pamphlet, 
have  been  the  means  of  inducing  thousands  upon  thousands  to  seek  a  perma- 
nent home  in  Chicago.  The  pamphlet  published  in  1854,  contains  man'y 
facts  which  can  be  had  nowhere  else,  as  the  records  from  which  they  were 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  303 

gathered  were  burned  in  the  great  fire  of  1871;  and  in  this  connection 
the  editor  of  this  volume  would  say  that  he  is  indebted  to  the  writings 
of  Governor  Bross  for  nearly  all  the  facts  which  the  work  contains,  and 
not  otherwise  credited. 

In  his  enthusiastic  admiration  of  Chicago,  his  predictions  as  to  her 
future,  and  indeed  the  description  of  her  resources,  were  often  regarded 
as  closely  bordering  upon  the  unreasonable,  but  subsequent  history  has 
more  than  verified  all  that  he  said,  and  established  for  him  the  reputation 
of  being  a  man  of  penetrating  foresight  and  exceptionally  sound  judg- 
ment. Perhaps  a  more  truthful  picture  of  his  ability  and  character  could 
not  be  given  than  that  embodied  in  the  following,  written  by  one  who 
knew  him  intimately:  "His  commercial  and  railway  articles,  though  often 
appearing  to  border  on  the  fabulous,  have  been  more  than  verified  by  the 
facts  and  figures  gathered  by  the  sober,  careful  statistician.  He  is,  in  fact, 
one  of  the  best  statisticians  in  the  West;  and  this,  together  with  extensive 
travel  and  careful  personal  observation,  enabled  him  the  better  to  foresee 
that  wonderful  progress  destined  to  be  so  fully  realized." 

In  the  Winter  of  1854-5,  Mr.  Bross  became  impressed  with  the 
feasibility  and  desirability  of  constructing  the  Georgian  Bay  Canal.  Not- 
withstanding the  obstacles  which  naturally  presented  themselves,  he  went 
to  work,  with  his  usual  energy,  to  gather  information,  and  finally  wrote 
a  comprehensive  article  upon  the  subject,  which  was  widely  distributed 
in  Canada,  and  in  fact  resulted  in  creating  such  a  favorable  opinion,  that 
a  convention  was  called,  and  held  in  Toronto  in  September,  1855,  *°  take 
action  upon  the  matter.  The  feasibility  of  the  proposed  route  was  fully 
demonstrated  by  the  subsequent  survey,  which  was  an  outcome  of  this 
convention.  Mr.  Bross  furnished  much  of  the  statistical  matter  which 
appeared  in  the  report  of  the  surveyors,  and  collected  the  funds  necessary 
to  pay  for  its  publication. 

In  the  year  1855  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Common  Council  of 
the  city  of  Chicago,  and  served  in  that  capacity  for  two  years,  faithfully 
performing  the  duties  of  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Schools. 

On  the  first  of  July,  1858,  the  DEMOCRATIC  PRESS  and  the  TRIBUNE 
were  consolidated — the  date  given  in  the  previous  chapter  being  an  error — 
under  the  name  of  the  PRESS  AND  TRIBUNE,  the  proprietors  being 
Messrs.  Bross,  Scripps  and  B.  W.  Spears,  of  the  PRESS,  and  C.  H.  Ray, 
Joseph  Medill  and  Alfred  Cowles  of  the  TRIBUNE.  The  name  was  sub- 
sequently changed  to  that  now  so  familiar  to  the  public,  the  CHICAGO 
DAILY  TRIBUNE.  Mr.  Bross  continued  to  work  on  the  consolidated 
paper,  and  his  commercial  and  statistical  articles  gave  the  PRESS  AND 
TRIBUNE  then,  and  the  TRIBUNE  afterward,  a  value  which  was  fully 
appreciated  by  the  public  and  of  great  benefit  to  the  paper.  So  far  as 
Mr.  Bross  is  spoken  of  in  his  character  as  a  journalist,  it  must  be  under- 
stood that  his  able  associates — and  his  partners  have  always  been  strong 
men — are  also  referred  to.  Under  his  and  their  management  the  TRIBUNE 
has  become  one  of  the  best  and  most  influential  newspapers  in  the  cotiu- 


304  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

try,  and  the  corporation  which  runs  it  is  rich  and  powerful.  In  the  days 
1  of  beginning  the  TRIBUNE  was  printed  on  an  old  Adams  power  press — 
the  first  ever  brought  to  Chicago — which  was  driven  by  an  old  blind  and 
black  Canadian  pony.  Now  the  paper  is  printed  upon  three  perfecting 
presses  capable  of  printing  complete  fifteen  thousand  to  twenty  thousand 
per  hour. 

The  TRIBUNE  was  among  the  earliest  supporters  of  Abraham  Lincoln, 
publishing  in  full  the  celebrated  debates  between  him  and  Stephen  A. 
Douglas,  in  the  memorable  contest  for  the  Illinois  senatorship,  and  after- 
ward favored  Mr.  Lincoln's  nomination  for  the  presidency,  being  in  fact 
the  very  first  paper  that  suggested  his  name  in  connection  with  that  high 
office.  After  Mr.  Lincoln's  nomination  the  TRIBUNE  did  its  utmost  for 
the  success  of  the  ticket,  and  Mr.  Bross  and  his  associates  bent  all  their 
energies  of  voice  and  pen,  night  and  day,  to  aid  the  cause.  When  the  attack 
upon  Fort  Sumter  clearly  demonstrated  that  the  threats  so  freely  uttered 
by  the  South,  during  and  after  the  campaign,  were  not  entirely  idle,  the 
patriotism  of  our  subject  glowed  with  the  intensest  brightness,  and  he 
entered  upon  the  work  of  opposing  secession  with  all  his  great  ability. 
The  TRIBUNE  advocated  a  war  which  should  be  "short,  sharp  and 
decisive,"  waged  upon  the  patriotic  platform  of  "liberty  and  union."  It 
advocated  the  liberation  of  the  slave,  as  a  legitimate  result  of  the  war, 
and  urged  it,  even  while  Mr.  Lincoln  was  hesitating  as  to  the  feasibility 
of  issuing  the  emancipation  proclamation.  During  the  entire  war  Mr. 
Bross  was  not  only  a  patriotic  writer  and  speaker  for  the  Union,  but  he 
was  active  and  sacrificing  wherever  action  or  sacrifice  was  required  for 
the  advancement  of  his  country's  cause.  The  discovery  of  a  rebel  plot 
to  burn  Camp  Douglas  and  sack  the  city  of  Chicago,  in  November,  1864, 
was  in  no  small  degree  attributable  to  him.  He  was  also  the  leading 
spirit  in  raising  the  Twenty-ninth  United  States  Regiment  of  Colored 
Volunteers,  in  Illinois  and  adjoining  States,  paying  nearly  all  the  expenses 
incurred  in  its  organization.  That  regiment  was  under  the  command  of 
his  brother,  Colonel  John  A.  Bross,  who  was  killed  July  3Oth,  1864, 
while  bravely  leading  his  command,  at  Petersburg,  Virginia.  As  would 
naturally  be  expected  the  people  of  Illinois  appreciated  the  sterling  worth 
of  such  a  man,  and  recognizing  their  duty  of  rewarding  one  who  had 
stood  so  unflinchingly  for  the  country  in  its  hour  of  peril,  they  elected 
him  Lieutenant  Governor  of  the  State,  in  November,  1864,  giving  him 
a  majority  of  over  thirty  thousand. 

In  1865,  in  company  with  Schuyler  Colfax,  Ex- Vice  President  of 
the  United  States,  and  others,  Mr.  Bross  made  an  overland  trip  to  Cali- 
fornia. The  trip  was  full  of  interest  and  profit  to  the  tourists,  and  was 
made  by  them,  especially  by  Mr.  Bross,  full  of  interest  and  profit  not 
only  to  the  people  whom  they  met,  but  afterward  to  the  world.  To  the 
people  through  whose  places  of  habitation  he  passed,  he  spoke  words  of 
encouragement,  which  they  will  never  forget,  and  before  boards  of  com- 
merce, legislatures,  literary  and  scientific  associations,  he  afterward  unrolled 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  305 

the  comparatively  unknown  Western  country,  with  its  vast  resources,  in 
eloquent  words,  and  as  if  he  were  holding  before  his  delighted  audiences 
a  rapidly  moving  panorama. 

In  1867  he  spent  six  months  in  Europe,  with  his  daughter,  visiting 
Liverpool,  Dublin,  Belfast,  Glasgow',  Edinburgh,  London,  Calais,  Paris, 
Brussels,  Berlin,  Munich,  Vienna,  Rome,  Florence,  Naples,  Genoa,  Her- 
culaneum,  Pompeii  and  other  places  of  interest,  writing  a  brilliant  series 
of  letters  for  the  TRIBUNE,  in  which  he  graphically  sketched  the  scenes 
presented  and  the  impressions  which  he  received,  and  which  like  all  his 
other  writings,  commanded  wide  attention. 

Mr.  Bross  was  married  in  1839  to  the  only  daughter  of  the  late  Dr. 
John  T.  Jansen,  of  Goshen,  New  York,  a  lady  of  most  estimable  qualities 
of  character,  who  still  lives  to  enjoy  the  triumphs  of  her  husband's  career. 
Eight  children,  four  sons  and  four  daughters,  blessed  this  union,  but  all 
except  Mrs.  H.  D.  Lloyd,  a  lady  of  rare  grace  and  intellectual  attain- 
ments, slumber  in  Rose  Hill  cemetery,  in  the  shadow  of  a  beautiful  family 
monument. 

Although  still  a  part  owner  of  the  TRIBUNE,  and  the  president  of 
the  company,  Mr.  Bross  has  not  for  the  last  four  or  five  years  been 
actively  engaged  in  editorial  work,  but  writes  for  any  department  of  the 
paper  whenever  the  spirit  moves,  and  is  the  author  of  occasional  valuable 
articles  for  the  Historical  Society  and  the  Academy  of  Sciences.  He 
also  does  some  speaking  on  public  occasions,  being  always  listened  to 
with  both  interest  and  profit.  The  Early  History  of  Chicago,  which 
was  published  in  1876,  contains  facts  which  are  to  be  found  nowhere  else, 
and  it  has  been  fondly  hoped  that  he  would  add  to  it  from  the  data  which 
he  has  in  his  possession,  thus  forming  one  of  the  most  comprehensive  and 
reliable  histories  that  possibly  could  be  written  of  Chicago;  but  it  is 
doubtful  if  he  will  do  it. 

The  ruling  passion  of  Mr.  Bross'  life  has  been  to  develop  Chicago, 
the  West  and  indeed  the  whole  country.  Whenever  he  has  written  he 
seems  to  have  had  this  object  distinctively  in  view.  Whenever  he  has 
traveled  the  good  of  the  American  people  has  been  uppermost  in  his  mind. 
This  was  illustrated  by  the  interest  which  he  took  in  1879  in  the  cultiva- 
tion of  rice  corn,  the  merits  of  which  his  keen  perception  readily  detected, 
and  his  pen  made  known  its  merits  far  and  wide  through  the  TRIBUNE. 
He  may  really  be  said  to  be  the  father  of  rice  corn  cultivation,  which 
now  finds  such  general  favor  in  Kansas.  Few  men,  in  fact,  have  done 
so  much  that  is  valuable  to  society  as  he  has  done,  and  much  that  he  has 
accomplished  has  been  done  so  quietly  that  he  is  recognized  as  the  author 
only  by  his  most  intimate  friends. 

Personally  Ex-Lieutenant  Governor  Bross  is  a  man  of  marked  and 
commanding  appearance.  His  robust  frame,  open  countenance,  high 
forehead  and  sharp  gray  eyes,  indicate  a  person  of  extraordinary  energy, 
clear  intellect,  superior  judgment,  unusual  foresight  and  unswerving 
honesty.  In  his  intercourse  with  men  he  is  frank  and  courteous,  always 


306  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

ready  to  do  what  may  lie  in  his  power  to  add  to  the  happiness  and  welfare 
of  others,  and  he  is  especially  kindly  disposed  toward  worthy  young  men 
struggling  for  a  position.  Indeed  one  of  the  finest  traits  of  his  character 
is  his  kindness  of  heart,  which  never  fails  of  exhibition  when  it  is  merited. 
Socially  he  is  the  most  congenial  of  men,  winning  the  love  of  all  who 
may  be  favored  with  his  friendship  or  acquaintance.  As  an  employer, 
his  affability  has  always  won  the  almost  filial  regard  of  those  under  him. 

Two  events  in  the  life  of  Governor  Bross  are  so  especially  note- 
worthy that  this  sketch  should  not  close  without  containing  a  mention 
of  them.  The  amendment  to  the  constitution,  submitted  by  Congress  to 
the  States  abolishing  slavery  in  the  United  States,  was  passed  January 
3 ist,  1865.  The  resolution  for  its  adoption  was  passed  the  next  day  by 
the  Illinois  legislature,  and  hence  his  name  as  presiding  officer  of  the 
Senate  with  that  of  the  Speaker  of  the  House  stands  first  among  all 
the  States  to  that  immortal  document.  All  the  infamous  black  laws  of 
Illinois  were  repealed  during  the  session  of  1865,  and  his  name  was  gladly 
affixed  to  them  as  the  representative  of  a  free  people. 

In  1868  he  visited  the  Rocky  Mountains  with  Vice  President  Colfax. 
During  the  trip  he  ascended  Mount  Lincoln  with  a  party  of  miners,  and 
in  his  honor  they  named  the  mountain  in  the  same  range  only  a  mile  or 
two  from  it,  after  their  companion.  Only  a  deep  gorge  partly  separates 
them.  Mount  Lincoln  is  fourteen  thousand  two  hundred  and  ninety- 
seven  feet  high;  Mount  Bross  is  fourteen  thousand  one  hundred  and 
eighty-five.  The  Dolly  Varden  and  the  Moose  mines,  two  of  the  best 
known  and  most  valuable  properties  in  Colorado,  are  on  Mount  Bross. 
That  his  name  should  be  thus  intimately  associated  with  that  of  Lincoln, 
among  the  highest  mountain  peaks  upon  the  continent,  is  an  honor  which 
any  man  might  covet. 

Mi%  Bross  is  now  in  the  sixty-eighth  year  of  his  age,  but  active  as  are 
many  men  at  fifty.  Whatever  may  be  his  future,  his  achievements  have 
already  placed  his  name  in  a  high  and  permanent  position  in  the  American 
nation.  As  an  able  and  convincing  writer,  as  an  orator,  who  has  spoken 
upon  a  wide  range  of  subjects,  and  whose  voice  has  often  been  heard 
upon  the  same  platform  with  Lincoln,  Lovejoy,  Logan,  Oglesby,  Yates, 
Colfax,  Washburn  and  other  leading  men  of  the  West,  as  Lieutenant 
Governor  and  the  efficient  President  of  the  State  Senate,  as  a  public 
spirited  and  patriotic  citizen,  and  as  a  man  who  has  faithfully  discharged 
the  various  duties  in  private  as  well  as  public  life,  Ex-Lieutenant  Governor 
William  Bross  has  achieved  a  fame  which  the  years  will  not  tarnish. 


Uui 


3°7 


WASHINGTON  HESING. 

Of  the  young  men  who  have  made  themselves  felt  in  Chicago,  and  for 
\vhom  the  community  has  pictured  a  brilliant  future,  none  have  achieved 
more  substantial  success,  or  give  better  promise,  than  Washington  Hesing. 
Possessed  of  a  natural  force  of  charactei",  and  a  genius  which  fits  him  to 
encounter  and  triumph  over  obstacles;  with  an  evenly  balanced  and  actively 
logical  mind,  which  he  inherits  from  his  German  origin,  and  which  has 
been  finely  trained  in  the  best  educational  institutions  of  America  and 
under  the  instruction  of  the  ablest  professors  in  Berlin  and  Heidelberg; 
imbued  with  a  lofty  admiration  and  thorough  understanding  of  the  princi- 
ples of  popular  government,  and  with  an  ardent  love  for  justice  and  liberty, 
he  must  be  regarded,  in  the  light  which  the  present  reveals,  as  being  des- 
tined to  make  a  marked  impi'ess  not  only  upon  the  history  and  character 
of  his  adopted  city,  but  also  upon  those  of  his  country.  In  looking  about 
them  for  worthy  successors,  when  they  shall  have  unladen  the  burden  of 
responsibility,  the  old  patriots,  who  have  reared  or  strengthened  the  pillars 
of  our  grand  Republic,  are  content  when  they  find  our  maturing  young 
men  possessed  of  such  qualifications  as  are  here  rightly  attributed  to  the 
subject  of  this  sketch.  While  only  thirty-one  years  of  age — having  been 
born  May  i4th,  1849 — he  has  taken  an  active  part  in  politics  for  nearly 
ten  years,. beginning  when  only  twenty-three,  and  then  distinguishing 
himself  by  a  series  of  eloquent  speeches,  in  both  the  English  and  German 
languages,  in  favor  of  the  election  of  General  U.  S.  Grant  to  the  Presi- 
dency. Of  decided  convictions,  and  unflinching  of  purpose  in  whatever  he 
undertakes,  his  uncompromising  advocacy  of  the  principles  of  his  party 
during  that  campaign  and  since,  has  naturally  made  him  enemies;  but, 
probably,  he  has  no  enemy  who  would  do  himself  the  injustice  of  denying 
Mr.  Hesing  the  possession  of  sterling  character,  of  devotion  to  principle, 
and  of  a  familiarity  with  political  economy  and  the  science  of  government 
of  which  a  much  older  man  might  well  feel  proud. 

Anthony  C.  Hesing,  the  father  of  'our  subject,  came  from  Germany  to 
this  country  in  1839,  and  the  mother,  Louise  Lamping,  also  of  German 
nativity,  came  in  1847.  •^•r>  and'  Mrs.  Hesing  were  residing  at  Cincin- 
nati, Ohio,  when  Washington  was  born,  but  removed  six  years  later  to 
this  city,  where  they  resided  for  one  year,  and  then  sought  a  residence  in 
Highland  Park,  Illinois,  remaining  there  until  1857,  when  they  returned 
to  Chicago.  The  son  was  almost  constantly  in  school  from  the  time  the 


308  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

family  arrived  in  Chicago,  until  the  Spring  of  i86i,when  he  accompanied 
his  mother  to  Europe,  and  returned  with  her  in  the  Winter.  Upon  his 
return  he  entered  what  was  then  called  the  University  St.  Mary's  of  the 
Lake,  a  Catholic  institution  of  learning,  presided  over  at  the  time  by  the 
Rev.  Dr.  McMullen,  the  present  Vicar  General  of  the  Diocese  of  Chicago- 
After  remaining  at  this  university  until  July,  1863,  he  attended  one  term 
at  the  Chicago  University,  after  which  he  was  prepared  by  Dr.  Quacken- 
boss  for  admission  to  Yale  College,  which  institution  he  entered  Sep. 
tember,  1866,  and  from  which  he  graduated  with  the  degree  of  Bachelor 
of  Arts  in  1870. 

Immediately  upon  graduating  he  visited  Europe  for  the  purpose  of 
studying  political  economy,  international  law,  the  science  of  government, 
history  and  German  literature,  and  was  thus  engaged  when  Chicago's 
great  calamity  of  1871  fell  upon  the  city,  which  served  as  a  summons  to  him 
to  return.  Upon  reaching  his  home  he  at  once  entered  upon  an  active 
business  life,  in  assuming,  on  the  twenty-first  of  November,  the  manage- 
ment of  the  ILLINOIS  STAATS  ZEITUNG  establishment,  and  was  satisfac- 
torily prosperous  until  the  financial  panic  of  1873  burst  upon  the  country, 
and  seriously  involved  Mr.  Hesing's  father,  to  whose  rescue,  like  a  brave 
man  and  son,  he  pledged  his  all.  The  undertaking,  however,  was  too  great 
under  the  exceedingly  adverse  circumstances,  and  five  years  later  Mr. 
Hesing  was  compelled  to  part  with  his  interest  in  the  STAATS  ZEITUNG 
Company.  But  undismayed,  he  set  himself  to  the  task  of  recovering  his 
losses,  and  in  April,  1880,  signalized  his  triumph  over  adversity  by  secur- 
ing, in  connection  with  his  father,  a  controlling  interest  in  the  STAATS 
ZEITUNG,  which  is  now  under  the  successful  management  of  father  and  son. 

Mr.  Hesing's  life  has  thus  been  a  very  active  one,  and  up  to  the  time 
of  his  entering  upon  his  business  career,  the  activity  was  peculiarly  German, 
consisting  in  the  arduous  conformity  with  that  nation's  belief  that  thorough 
education  is  imperative.  The  city  of  Chicago  recognized  the  success  of 
such  a  theory,  and  signally  honored  a  young  man  who  had  reduced  it  to 
practice  in  America,  by  appointing  Mr.  Hesing,  when  only  twenty-two 
years  of  age,  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Education.  At  the  expiration  of 
his  term  of  office  Joseph  Medill,  then  Mayor  of  the  city,  tendered  him  a 
reappointment,  which  was  declined.  While  a  member  of  the  Board  Mr. 
Hesing,  as  one  of  the  Committee  on  German,  made  a  report  in  which  he 
advocated  the  system  of  grading  the  German  instruction,  as  the  English 
was  graded,  and  his  proposed  system  was  adopted  and  is  now  in  practice. 
In  August,  1880,  Mr.  Hesing's  fine  qualifications  as  a  supervisor  of  public 
instruction  were  still  further  acknowledged  through  his  election  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  County  Board  of  Education. 

Mr.  Hesing  is  a  member  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  and  attends 
the  Cathedral  of  the  Holy  Name.  His  prominence  in  his  church  will  be 
indicated  by  the  fact  that  in  1873  he  was  elected  President  of  the  Union 
Catholic  Library  Association  of  Chicago,  which  is  an  organization  em- 
bracing all  the  Catholics  of  the  city.  As  in  other  relations  of  life,  his  duties 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  3P9 

in  this  are  methodical  and  exemplary,  and  the  church  finds  in  him  the  firm 
supporter  of  principle  within  it,  that  society  generally  has  learned  to 
regard  him  in  any  cause  which  he  espouses. 

Scarcely  anything  remains  to  be  said  to  complete  the  outlines  of 
Washington  Hesing's  life,  except  to  note  his  marriage  in  July,  1870,  with 
Henrietta  C.  Weir,  an  accomplished  young  lady  of  Boston,  Massachusetts. 
While  not  so  regarded  by  himself,  his  career  has  really  been  one  of  signal 
brilliancy,  and  has  entitled  him,  his  friends — who  have  already  mentioned 
his  name  in  connection  with  Congress — believe,  to  an  early  promotion  to 
the  councils  of  the  nation,  where  his  natural  abilities  and  attainments  can 
find  full  scope  for  exercise.  To  whatever  sphere  of  duty  he  may  be  called 
Mr.  Hesing  is  abundantly  fitted  to  reflect  honor  upon  it,  his  country  and 
himself. 


110 


JOHN  C.  BUNDY. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch,  Colonel  John  C.  Bundy,  editor  and 
proprietor  of  the  RELIGIO-PHILOSOPHICAL  JOURNAL,  was  born  at  St. 
Charles,  Kane  county,  Illinois,  February  i6th,  1841.  His  parents  were 
Asahel  and  Betsey  Bundy.  Until  fourteen  years  of  age  he  remained  at 
home.  His  father's  farm  being  located  within  the  precincts  of  a  country 
village,  he  enjoyed  the  advantages  of  both  city  and  country  life  without 
their  disadvantages.  He  was  then  sent  to  Boston,  where  he  could  enjoy 
better  educational  facilities,  but  the  climate  affected  his  health  so  seriously 
that  he  was  obliged  to  return  home.  In  1857  ^ie  attended  the  Phillips 
Academv,  Andover,  Massachusetts,  to  prepare  for  college,  and  after  two 
years'  study  was  obliged  to  return  on  account  of  failing  health,  and  as 
events  proved,  this  ended  his  school  days. 

His  advent  was  made  in  a  new  and  unsettled  country,  and  although 
shielded  from  actual  want  he  was  obliged  to  suffer  the  deprivations  which 
fall  to  the  lot  of  all  pioneers,  and  especially  his  delicate  constitution  was 
susceptible  to  climatic  and  malarial  influences,  and  robust  health  was  not 
his  until  long  after  he  had  reached  manhood. 

In  1860  he  began  business  life  as  clerk  in  the  dry  goods  store  of  Minard 
&  Osgood,  at  St.  Charles,  and  even  thus  early  manifested  the  acumen  and 
energy  which  have  always  characterized  his  life.  He  had  no  special  love 
for  the  business,  yet  he  made  a  study  of  the  influence  of  mind  over  mind, 
in  the  psychological  effect  he  could  produce  on  his  customers,  and  sought 
to  exceed  the  other  clerks  in  the  amount  of  his  sales.  The  cannon  of 
Sumter  awoke  him  from  his  peaceful  dreams.  The  boy  of  twenty,  fired 
with  patriotism,  immediately  joined  a  military  company,  and  although  the 
musket  was  heavy,  and  his  tender  feet  soon  blistered,  he  drilled  with 
the  same  zeal  and  energy  he  had  evinced  in  the  sale  of  goods.  He  began 
actively  recruiting  men  for  the  service,  and  before  getting  into  an  organi- 
zation finally  accepted,  he  had  sent  forward  several  hundred. 

On  August  ^th,  1861,  he  was  sworn  into  service  at  Geneva,  Illinois, 
as  private  in  the  Kane  county,  cavalry  company,  which  was  made  up 
from  recruits  gathered  from  within  a  radius  of  twenty  miles  of  Geneva. 
C.  B.  Dodson  of  that  place  was  elected  captain,  W.  C.  Wilder  first  and 
John  C.  Bundy  second  lieutenant.  The  company  was  first  moved  to 
Jefferson  Barracks  below  St.  Louis,  then  in  charge  of  General  S.  R. 
Curtis,  of  Iowa,  and  shortly  after  was  taken  as  the  escort  of  that  officer, 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  311 

moving  with  him  to  Benton  Barracks  in  the  suburbs  of  St.  Louis. 
General  Curtis,  although  a  West  Pointer,  here  overstepped  the  army 
regulations,  which  required  mustering  officers  to  be  graduates  of  West 
Point  or  regular  army  officers,  and  detailed  Lieutenant  Bundy  to  that 
responsible  position.  Though  only  a  green  country  boy,  without  the 
slightest  military  knowledge  or  preparation,  his  indomitable  energy  over- 
came all  difficulties.  By  studying  nights  the  cavalry  tactics,  he  became 
so  well  informed  that  he  gave  effectual  aid  in  drilling  his  old  company. 
With  the  first  lieutenant  he  sat  late  at  night,  with  a  dummy  squadron  of 
blocks  of  wood,  and  so  thoroughly  mastered  the  lesson  that  they  were 
able  to  drill  the  men  in  it  next  day. 

As  mustering  officer  he  came  in  contact  with  a  host  of  officers  fresh 
from  Congress,  the  courts  and  other  high  places,  and  they  not  knowing 
his  record,  and  seeing  his  extreme  youth,  took  it  for  granted  that  he  was 
a  West  Point  graduate,  and  plied  him  with  all  sorts  of  work  and  confi- 
dently looked  to  him  as  authority  on  subjects  of  which  he  had  no  previous 
knowledge,  but  his  aptitude,  quick  intuition  and  energy  always  availed 
him.  At  his  request  he  was  relieved,  in  order  to  return  to  his  company. 

He  was  on  the  staff  of  Major  General  S.  R.  Curtis  in  the  memorable 
march  through  Arkansas,  which  is  said  by  those  who  afterward  took 
part  in  all  the  leading  campaigns  to  have  been  unsurpassed  in  hardships, 
though  little  fighting  was  done.  During  this  campaign  he  was  promoted 
to  the  rank  of  Lieutenant  Colonel  of  the  First  Arkansas  Infantry.  Con- 
stantly assigned  to  difficult  positions,  and  never  sparing  himself,  he  at 
last  was  obliged  to  accept  a  leave  of  absence,  on  account  of  impaired 
health,  and  returned  to  St.  Charles,  where  he  rapidly  recovered. 

August  ixjth,  1862,  he  married  Mary  E.,  daughter  of  Stevens  S.  and 
Lavinia  M.  Jones,  of  St.  Charles.  Two  weeks  thereafter  found  him 
again  in  the  field,  and  with  the  most  brilliant  prospects  before  him,  his 
health  again  gave  way,  and  in  1863  he  was  obliged  to  retire  from  service. 
The  following  extract  from  a  letter  given  him  before  he  became  fully 
convinced  that  he  could  not  endure  further  service,  speaks  for  itself.  It 
was  never  presented  to  the  President: 

STATE  OF  ILLINOIS,  EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT, 

SPRINGFIELD,  FEBRUARY  nth,  1863. 
His  EXCELLENCY,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  PRESIDENT,  ETC.: 

*  *  *  Colonel  Bundy  is  desirous  of  accepting  another  position  in  gov- 
ernment service,  and  I  take  great  pleasure  in  recomir.ending  him  for  any  position  at 
your  disposal.  He  is  the  bearer  of  credentials  of  a  very  high  character,  vouching  for 
his  integrity  and  ability.  He  served  with  distinction  in  the  Department  of  the  Missouri, 
and  is  highly  spoken  of  by  Major  General  Curtis.  Any  favor  granted  Colonel  Bundy 
will  be  worthily  bestowed.  Very  respectfully  your  obedient  servant, 

RICHARD  YATES,  Governor. 

For  several  years  after  leaving  the  army  his  health  was  too  precarious 
to  allow  of  much  active  work.  He  farmed  a  little,  and  studied  law,  for 
which  he  has  a  remarkable  aptitude.  He  came  to  Chicago  in  1866,  and 
became  identified  with  the  RELIGIO-PHILOSOPHICAL  Publishing  House, 


312  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

of  which  his  father-in-law,  Mr.  Jones,  was  president,  and  afterward  pro- 
prietor. 

To  establish  a  great  journal  for  the  promulgation  of  free  thought, 
liberal  ideas,  the  advancement  of  science,  in  the  light  of  spiritualism,  had 
been  the  dream  of  Mr.  Jones'  life,  and  to  it  he  had  given  all  his  indom- 
itable energies.  Mr.  Bundy,  of  all  others,  was  the  man  best  fitted  to  aid 
the  enterprise.  He  assumed  the  business  management  of  the  RELIGIO-- 
PHILOSOPHICAL  JOURNAL  and  the  Publishing  House,  and  success  was  at 
once  assured  by  the  immense  increase  of  business.  At  the  time  of  the 
great  fire  the  most  enviable  success  had  been  gained,  when  the  entire 
establishment  was  struck  out  of  existence.  Yet  with  a  determination 
which  knew  no  defeat,  although  not  a  vestige  of  the  type  or  office  mate- 
rial remained,  not  an  issue  was  missed,  and  among  the  first  enterprises 
to  regain  full  vitality,  after  the  disaster,  was  the  JOURNAL. 

On  the  death  of  Mr.  Jones,  March  I5th,  1877,  Colonel  Bundy,  as 
administrator  of  the  estate,  took  entire  control  of  the  paper  and  Publish- 
ing House,  and  has  since,  by  purchase,  become  sole  proprietor.  On  taking 
control  as  editor  he  inaugurated  a  new  policy  in  the  conduct  of  the 
JOURNAL.  Other  leading  reform  papers  had  by  over  valuing  the  desira- 
bility of  peace  allowed  unbounded  latitude  to  opinions,  and  even  remained 
silent  in  the  presence  of  frauds  and  deceptions  the  most  degrading. 

Spiritualism  had  no  organ  to  defend  it  against  the  charges  of  com- 
munism, fraud  and  vagaries.  Colonel  Bundy,  with  what  many  of  his 
staunch  friends  regarded  as  a  reckless  haste,  at  once  began  an  uncom- 
promising war  against  all  these,  and  boldly  declared  for  a  reform, 
a  liberalism  and  a  Spiritualism  free  from  every  taint  of  immorality  and 
fraud.  He  said  if  these  great  issues  could  not  bear  the  full  light  and  boldest 
discussion,  they  were  not  worth  advocating.  In  support  of  this  line  of 
policy  he  threw  his  fortune  and  his  life,  determined  to  win  on  that  line 
or  not  at  all.  He  is  a  man  who  never  looks  back,  never  turns,  and  his 
honesty  and  integrity  are  so  exacting  they  admit  of  no  short-comings  in 
others. 

The  RELIGIO-PHILOSOPHICAL  JOURNAL  had  in  previous  years  alone 
stayed  the  tide  of  Woodhull  fanaticism  which  at  one  time  nearly  swept 
away  liberal  journalism,  and  later,  under  Colonel  Bundy's  management, 
presented  an  invincible  wall  to  the  tide  of  Bennettism  which  broke  in 
twain  and  destroyed  the  influence  of  the  Liberal  League,  and  showed 
the  infamy  of  those  who  opposed  the  attempt  of  the  government  to 
repress  the  distribution  of  vile  literature,  and  the  debauchery  of  the 
morals  of  youth.  It  then  turned  its  attention  to  the  wise  and  thoughtful 
consideration  of  the  great  problems  of  spiritual  science  and  philosophy  and 
rational  interpretation  of  the  diverse  phenomena  therewith  connected. 
Fraud  and  rascality  had  been  so  mingled  with  the  true,  that  it  was  diffi- 
cult to  discriminate,  and  the  cause  was  suffering  defeat  by  the  unjust 
prejudice  thus  created.  This  policy  of  the  JOURNAL  was  certain  to  bring 
the  most  bitter  opposition  from  the  fraudulent  "mediums,"  pretenders 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  313 

and  quacks,  as  to  them  this  policy  was  certain  death,  and  the  credulous 
who  accepted  their  "phenomena,"  joined  with  them  in  the  cry  of  "perse- 
cution." A  great  many  so  called  "liberals"  opposed,  because  they  wanted 
"freedom,"  confounding  it  with  license.  When  the  history  of  the  great 
liberal  movement  is  written,  the  course  of  the  JOURNAL  will  be  written 
down  as  a  most  important  factor.  What  is  the  more  notable  is  the  sup- 
port given  it  by  its  widely  diverse  constituency,  who  have  encouraged 
the  wise  effort  to  make  the  word  Spiritualism  synonymous  with  the 
highest  and  purest  morality  and  the  profoundest  insight  into  the  laws  of 
the  world. 

The  RELIGIO-PHILOSOPHICAL  JOURNAL  has  a  large  and  rapidly 
increasing  subscription  list,  being  sent  into  every  State  in  the  Union,  and 
nearly  every  civilized  country  on  the  globe.  It  is  regarded  as  authority 
in  its  domain  not  only  at  home  but  in  Europe,  India  and  Australia.  In 
Colonel  Bundy's  hands  it  has  become  a  great  power  in  the  field  of  reform 
in  the  broadest  sense  of  that  word. 

Colonel  Bundy's  conjugal  relations  are  the  happiest.  Mrs.  Bundy 
has  for  several  years  held  a  position  in  the  Publishing  House,  the  responsi- 
bilities of  which  she  has  borne  because  so  important  she  could  not  give 
them  into  the  hands  of  another.  One  cloud  only  has  darkened  their  sky: 
the  death  of  their  son,  George  M.  S.,  born  in  1863,  who  was  killed  by 
being  struck  with  a  base  ball  while  watching  a  couple  of  boys  playing 
in  the  street.  Their  daughter,  Gertrude,  now  twelve  years  of  age,  is 
a  remarkably  precocious  and  sweet  child. 

The  most  encouraging  prospects  are  before  the  great  enterprise  of 
Colonel  Bundy,  who  has  proven  that  honesty  of  purpose  will  always 
win  in  the  end,  and  that  the  world  honors  those  who  loyally  maintain 
their  ideas  of  justice  and  right  regardless  of  petty  policy.  There  is  no 
question  of  human  rights,  philosophy  or  reform,  of  spiritual  or  material 
science,  ignored  by  the  RELIGIO-PHILOSOPHICAL  JOURNAL.  Colonel 
Bundy  has  still  a  long  life  before  him,  for  he  has  not  yet  reached  the 
meridian. 


H.  L.  GOODALL. 


In  his  present  field  of  journalism  Harvey  L.  Goodall,  the  subject  of  this 
necessarily  limited  sketch,  occupies  a  position  in  the  very  forefront  of  the 
most  widely  known,  enterprising  and  successful.  He  was  born  in  Vermont,, 
within  sight  of  the  snow-capped  heights  of  the  White  Mountains,  and  is 
a  lineal  descendant  of  the  heroic  Mrs.  Dustan,  with  the  details  of  whose 
capture  by  the  Indians  and  escape  in  a  birch  canoe  after  having  slaughtered 
her  captors,  all  readers  of  pioneer  history  are  thoroughly  familiar.  Raised 
upon  a  farm  until  he  was  sixteen  years  of  age,  he  enjoyed,  as  most  farmers* 
boys  of  that  era  did,  the  educational  facilities  of  his  neighborhood  only;, 
but  making  the  best  possible  use  of  these,  and  reading  with  much  eager- 
ness all  the  books  he  could  buy  or  borrow,  he  soon  became  noted  for  his 
extreme  studiousness,  and  won  what,  in  that  day  was  held  to  be  quite 
a  distinction:  the  honor  of  being  recognized  as  the  "champion  orthogra- 
phist"  or  best  speller  of  all  that  portion  of  the  Green  Mountain  State.  But 
believing  that  there  was  a  great  world  beyond  the  ranges  of  hills  and 
mountains  that  hemmed  in  his  home,  and  agreeing  with  the  now  lamented 
Douglas  that  Vermont  held  a  front  place  among  the  best  States  to  emigrate 
from,  he  bundled  up  his  scanty  supply  of  "dry  goods,"  and  with  the  pack 
upon  his  shoulder,  and  his  fowling  piece  in  his  hand,  he  started  out  to  do- 
battle  with  the  realities  of  life,  and  to  work  out  as  he  might,  his  own 
individual  destiny. 

It  would  be  interesting  to  know  how,  after  reaching  the  Maine  sea- 
shore, he  became  a  boy  sailor,  and  subsequently  "tramped  it,"  without 
money  or  friends,  in  foreign  lands,  often  suffering  from  hunger  and 
exposure;  how  his  needs  compelled  him  to  travel  the  streets  of  London, 
"weather-boarded"  with  advertising  bill  boards,  front  and  rear,  for  a  shil- 
ling a  day  and  "finding  himself;"  and  how,  finally,  despairing  of  ever 
becoming  a  second  Lord  Mayor  Whittington  through  such  trying  ordeals, 
he  actually  conceived  the  idea — penniless  as  he  was — of  returning  to  the 
United  States  on  foot,  by  crossing  over  to  France  and  thence  footing  it 
across  Europe  into  Asia,  through  Siberia  to  Behring's  Straits,  and  thence 
down  through  Alaska  and  the  British  Possessions  to  Oregon;  how  this 
great  journey  was  mapped  out  and  fully  determined  upon,  would,  in 
connection  with  the  varied  experiences  of  that  interval  of  his  life,  form 
a  deeply  interesting  chapter.  That  he  did  not  undertake  the  exhausting 
and  perilous  journey,  is  due  to  the  fortunate  happening  that,  moved  by 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  315 

a  desire  to  see  once  more  the  American  flag,  he  sauntered  down  to  the 
Victoria  docks,  where,  meeting  an  American  sailor,  he  was  persuaded  by 
him  to  go  to  sea  again.  Accordingly  he  shortly  afterward  shipped  on  the 
Boston  Belle,  and  after  several  voyages,  full  of  adventure,  he  returned  to 
his  native  land,  clad  in  Chinese  habiliments,  artistically  tattooed,  some- 
what wiser,  but  none  the  wealthier  for  his  trying  experiences  in  the  Old 
World. 

Again  at  home,  he  readily  adapted  himself  to  the  seeming  necessities 
of  the  situations  in  which  he  was  placed.  He  entered  a  cotton  mill,  and 
bringing  his  powers  of  concentration  and  application  to  his  aid,  he  soon 
learned  the  cotton  manufacturing  business  in  all  its  details,  thoroughly 
and  practically,  speedily  rising  to  the  position  of  overseer,  and  inventing 
a  new  "stop-motion"  that  all  subsequent  inventions  have  failed  to  drive 
into  disuse.  His  experience  as  a  merchant  and  tradesman  is  narrowed 
down  to  the  proprietorship  of  a  hat  and  trunk  store,  periodical  news 
depot  and  restaurant. 

He  was,  at  this  period  of  his  life,  a  member  of  the  varied  orders  of 
the  day,  having  a  passion  for  joining  all  organizations  formed  or  existing 
in  the  community  where  he  lived.  He  was  a  practical  fireman,  and  has 
pleasant  recollections  of  his  connection  with  a  military  company  belong- 
ing to  the  regiment  of  which  Benjamin  F.  Butler  was  colonel. 

Daguerreotyping  was  then  in  its  infancy,  and  acquiring  a  knowledge 
of  the  art  he  practiced  it,  and  now  has  a  lively  recollection  of  the  fact 
that  no  man,  living  or  dead,  ever  took  worse  pictures.  He  mastered  the 
art  of  phonography,  taught  it  in  several  Pennsylvania  colleges,  and 
during  two  sessions  served  as  a  phonographic  press  reporter  of  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  Pennsylvania  senate.  Subsequently  he  became  a  reporter 
for  the  Harrisburg  DAILY  TELEGRAPH,  passing  from  that  position  to  the 
foremanshipof  the  State  Bindery,  Messrs.  Fenn&  Sedgwick  being  the  State 
printers  and  binders.  At  a  later  day  he  became  the  editor  of  the  INLAND 
DAILY,  of  Lancaster,  Pennsylvania,  Mr.  Theophilus  Fenn  being  then 
the  editor  of  the  INDEPENDENT  WHIG,  issued  from  the  same  office,  and 
publisher — for  the  owners — of  both  papers.  The  office  was  owned  by 
.1  joint  stock  company,  of  which  Messrs.  Theophilus  Fenn,  Thaddeus 
Stevens  and  Edward  McPherson  were  the  principal  stockholders, 
McPherson  being  Mr.  Fenn's  predecessor  as  the  editor  and  publisher  of 
both  papers. 

Mr.  Goodall  afterward  published,  in  the  same  city,  the  Conestoga 
CHIEF,  as  the  organ  of  the  Red  Men.  This  office  was  soon  removed  to 
Philadelphia,  however,  and  the  material  used  there  in  the  publication  of 
the  SUNDAY  MIRROR.  Disposing  of  the  MIRROR  office,  Mr.  Goodall 
started  the  New  York  DAILY  TRANSCRIPT,  a  paper  that  subsequently 
became — under  the  management  to  which  he  sold  it — the  official  paper  of 
New  York  city  and  the  special  organ  of  the  "Tweed  ring"  that  so  merci- 
lessly plundered  the  treasury  and  wronged  the  public. 

With  sufficient  means  at  his  command,  Mr.  Goodall  now  repaired  to 


316  CHICA-GO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

London,  for  the  purpose  of  engaging  in  the  novel  enterprise  of  publishing 
a  daily  newspaper  on  board  the  steamer  Great  Eastern;  but  this  scheme 
being  defeated  by  an  explosion  on  board,  that  delayed  the  vessel's  depart- 
ure several  months,  he  accepted  the  treasurership  of  Howes  &  Cushing's 
circus.  With  that  mammoth  establishment,  that  then  offered  such 
attractions  as  John  Robinson,  the  great  bare  back  rider;  Rarey,  the  horse 
trainer;  Dan  Castello  and  his  trained  American  Bull;  Sayers  and  Heenan, 
then  at  the  acme  of  their  fame  as  pugilists;  the  celebrated  Jee  Brothers, 
etc.,  Mr.  Goodall  made  the  tour  of  Europe.  Before  starting,  however, 
Messrs.  Howes  &  Gushing  fitted  up  the  Alhambra  Palace,  in  Leicester 
Square,  London,  remaining  there  and  at  the  Crystal  Palace,  at  Sydenham, 
an  interval  of  several  weeks.  The  Howes  referred  to  is  none  other  than 
Seth  B.  Howes,  an  extensive  real  estate  owner,  and  a  widely  known  and 
much  respected  citizen  of  the  city  of  Chicago  at  the  present  time. 

Paradoxical  as  the  remark  may  seem,  Mr.  Goodall  "came  West  to 
grow  up  with  country"  by  going  East;  and  the  matter  may  be  still  further 
mystified  by  the  remark  that  he  did  not  travel  over  any  of  the  then 
existing  "trunk  lines,"  by  lake  or  canal,  neither  did  he  "foot  it."  He 
came  West  by  going  East  by  the  way  of  Quebec,  down  the  St.  Lawrence, 
across  the  Atlantic  to  Liverpool  and  London,  thence  to  the  West  Indies 
and  New  Orleans,  arriving  at  the  latter  'place  at  the  very  time  the  State 
convention  was  in  the  act  of  passing  the  secession  resolutions,  and  when 
Union  men  there  "held  their  lives  in  their  hands."  For  assistance  that 
enabled  him  to  get  safely  out  of  that  hot-bed  of  rebellion,  he  is,  and 
always  will  be,  under  the  profoundest  obligations  to  his  good  friends, 
Michael  Hahn,  who  subsequently  became  governor  of  Louisiana,  and 
Alfred  Shaw,  who  became  sheriff  at  New  Orleans,  under  the  Butler 
regime.  From  New  Orleans  to  Alton  the  trip  was  made  on  board  of 
a  steamer  that  floated,  most  of  the  time,  the  rebel  colors. 

Arriving  at  Alton,  Mr.  Goodall  at  once  enlisted  in  the  Second 
Illinois  Cavalry,  in  which  he  did  service  for  a  term  of  over  three  years, 
sharing  in  the  battles  of  Belmont  and  New  Madrid,  and  in  the  taking  of 
Island  No.  10.  His  service  also  included  dispatch-bearing  and  scout  duty 
in  Southeast  Missouri  and  Eastern  Arkansas,  at  the  time  when  those 
localities  were  thickly  infested  by  guerrillas  and  roving  bands  of  rebel 
bushwhackers  and  cut-throats.  He  ran  trains  over  the  Cairo,  Ai'kansas 
•and  Texas  railroad,  under  military  direction  during  an  interval  of  several 
weeks,  and  the  last  train  that  was  run  over  that  road  was  under  his 
charge.  Where  he  abandoned  it,  it  was  found  by  Colonel  Allen — who 
became  the  purchaser  of  that  road — after  the  close  of  the  war. 

How,  during  his  soldier  service  at  Columbus,  Kentucky,  in  the  midst 
of  a  great  multitude  of  Federal  soldiers,  and  almost  within  the  shadows 
of  the  forts  and  breastworks  the  rebels  had  just  abandoned,  Mr.  Goodall 
established  and  published  the  WAR  EAGLE,  the  first  Union  newspaper 
ever  printed  on  recovered  rebel  soil;  how  he  subsequently  located  at 
Cairo,  Illinois,  and  published  there  a  widely  circulated  and  influential 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  317 

newspaper  with  daily  and  weekly  editions — all  this  and  much  more  may 
not  even  be  outlined  in  the  narrow  space  here  assigned  to  him.  Suffice 
it  to  say  that  in  all  the  positions  in  which  circumstances  placed  him,  he 
displayed  the  sound  judgment  which  has  always  distinguished  his  career 
since,  and  the  same  sterling  integrity  and  uprightness  of  character  which 
have  won  him  the  esteem  and  confidence  of  the  large  constituency 
which  he  and  the  enterprises  in  which  he  is  now  engaged,  represent. 

As  we  have  already  intimated,  Mr.  Goodall  was  the  originator  of 
a  number  of  newspaper  enterprises — the  dollar  WEEKLY  SUN,  which  he 
still  publishes,  among  the  rest — but  none  of  them  so  fully  bore  the  impress 
of  his  originality,  genius  and  tireless  industry  as  the  DROVERS'  JOURNAL, 
which  he  established  at  the  Union  Stock  Yards,  in  the  vicinage  of  Chicago 
now  bears.  Properly  appreciating  the  live  stock  interests  of  the  great  West 
and  Northwest,  for  which  Chicago  had  become  the  focus  and  distributing 
point,  Mr.  Goodall,  on  the  eleventh  day  of  January,  1873,  superseded 
the  market  circulars  he  had  been  issuing  for  several  years,  with  the 
weekly  DROVERS'  JOURNAL,  the  first  livestock  market  paper  ever  pub- 
lished in  the  world.  The  scheme  was  an  original  one,  but  bringing  his 
experience  in  journalism,  his  knowledge  of  all  the  details  of  the  publish- 
ing business  to  the  aid  of  his  confessed  editorial  tact  and  ability,  his 
enterprise  gave  most  gratifying  auguries  of  the  success  it  has  since  achieved. 
It  soon  became  a  necessity  to  enterprising  livestock  men  in  all  the  stock 
growing  regions  of  the  country,  and  was  a  powerful  agent  in  the  work 
of  making  known  the  unequaled  facilities  of  the  Union  Stock  Yards  for 
the  transaction  of  the  business  for  which  they  were  established,  which  is 
now  confessedly  the  largest  in  the  world.  In  the  month  of  January, 
1877,  the  greatly  increased  volume  of  the  trade,  in  connection  with  the 
vastly  increased  production  all  over  the  country,  seemed  to  demand 
the  publication  of  a  daily  edition,  and  in  response  to  that  demand  the 
DAILY  DROVERS'  JOURNAL  made  its  appearance.  Both  the  editorial 
and  mechanical  departments  of  the  paper  passing  under  Mr.  Goodall's 
personal  surveillance,  the  Daily  soon  won  its  way  into  popular  favor,  and 
is  now  everywhere  recognized  by  livestock  men,  whether  shippers, 
breeders  or  feeders,  as  an  indispensable  requisite  to  success  in  the  prosecu- 
tion of  their  respective  callings.  A  semi-weekly  edition  followed  at 
once,  and  thus  by  the  publication  of  a  daily,  semi-weekly  and  weekly 
edition,  was  Mr.  Goodall  enabled  to  supply  all  possible  demands  of  the 
live  stock  interests  of  the  country.  But  he  was  not  satisfied  to  rest  his 
efforts  at  expansion  even  at  this  point.  Noting  the  rapidly  growing 
cattle  export  and  kindred  interests  of  the  country,  and  appreciating  the 
need  for  a  staunch  friend  and  promoter  of  those  interests  on  the  other 
side  of  the  Atlantic  where  hostile  influences  were  constantly  at  work,  he 
determined  to  put  in  execution  an  idea  he  had  conceived  years  before,  and 
that  was  to  establish  an  European  edition  of  the  DROVERS'  JOURNAL  in 
the  city  of  Liverpool.  This  he  did  early  in  the  year  1880,  and  already 
the  European  paper  has  become  a  staunch  and  valuable  friend  abroad  for 


318  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

the  hundreds  and  thousands  of  American  citizens  engaged  in  the  live  and 
dead  meat  export  business  of  the  times.  His  business  on  both  sides  of 
the  Atlantic  is  now  prosperous,  and  no  other  man  in  his  department  of 
journalism — which  is  entirely  original  with  him — is  so  widely  known  as 
H.  L.  Goodall,  of  the  DROVERS'  JOURNAL.  From  the  date  of  the 
establishment  of  his  Chicago  enterprises  he  has  had  the  active  co-opera- 
tion of  his  brother,  Harry  P.  Goodall,  who,  having  full  charge  of  the 
advertising  department,  prosecutes  the  trusts  confided  to  him  most  indus- 
triously, intelligently  and  successfully. 


ANDREW  SHUMAN. 


Andrew  Shuman,  the  editor  of  the  Chicago  "EVENING  JOURNAL, 
was  born  in  Manor,  Lancaster  county,  Pennsylvania,  November  8th,  1830. 
His  father,  Jacob  Shuman,  was  a  farmer  in  moderate  circumstances.  His 
mother  was  Margaret  Whistler. 

When  Andrew  was  seven  years  old  his  father  died,  and  he  was 
adopted  by  an  uncle,  a  retired,  wealthy  farmer,  who  treated  the  boy  in 
every  respect  as  a  member  of  his  own  family,  sending  him  to  school 
much  of  the  time  and  exhibiting  toward  him  all  the  interest  of  a  parent 
or  a  tender  guaixlian.  When  he  was  fourteen  years  of  age,  he  left  the 
old  country  home,  entering  a  drug  store  in  the  city  of  Lancaster  as  a  clerk. 
Not  liking  that  business,  which  was  not  his  own  choice,  but  that  of  an 
older  brother,  a  few  mqnths  subsequently  he  abandoned  the  drug  store 
for  the  printing  office,  which  suited  his  tastes  and  inclinations  better. 
Entering  the  office  of  the  UNION  AND  SENTINEL,  in  Lancaster,  as  an 
apprentice,  in  1845,  ^e  J'ernained  there  over  a  year,  when  the  proprietor 
of  that  paper  sold  out  and  purchased  the  office  of  the  DAILY  ADTERTISER 
at  Auburn,  New  York,  known  in  those  and  in  subsequent  years  as 
"Seward's  home  organ." 

At  his  employer's  urgent  request,  he  accompanied  him  to  Auburn, 
remaining  with  him  there  for  two  years,  during  the  last  of  which,  at  the 
age  of  eighteen,  he  edited,  published,  printed  and  distributed,  during  his 
leisure  hours,  a  small  weekly  paper — THE  AUBURNIAN.  At  the  conclu- 
sion of  his  printer's  apprenticeship,  he  became  associated  with  Thurlow 
W.  Brown,  well  known  in  those  days  as  a  tempei'ance  writer  and  lecturer, 
in  the  publication  and  editorship  of  a  weekly  paper  at  Auburn,  called  the 
CAYUGA  CHIEF.  At  the  end  of  a  year  and  a  half  the  partnership  of 
Brown  &  Shuman  was  dissolved,  Shuman  having  made  up  his  mind  to 
adopt  the  editorial  profession  as  his  life  work,  and  being  fully  impressed 
with  the  necessity  of  going  through  a  thorough  course  of  reading,  study 
and  general  culture  before  he  could  be  qualified  for  the  peculiar  duties 
of  that  profession,  at  once  set  to  work  preparing  himself  for  college. 
Having  carefully  saved  up  his  little  earnings,  he  purchased  all  needful 
books  and  made  arrangements  to  enter  upon  a  preparatory  course  in  the 
Liberal  Institute  at  Clinton,  New  York,  then  under  the  Presidency  of 
Reverend  Thomas  J.  Sawyer,  D.  D. 

A  year  in  that  institution  prepared  him  to  enter  the  Freshman  class 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

m  Hamilton  College,  at  Clinton,  which  he  did  in  the  Autumn  of  1851. 
Now  commenced  a  struggle  between  poverty  and  ambition — between 
discouragements  of  impecuniosity  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  ardent  thirst 
for  knowledge  on  the  other.  During  term  time  he  studied  hard  in  col- 
lege, and  during  vacation  time  he  worked  hard  in  the  printing  offices  of 
Auburn,  Syracuse  and  Utica,  earning  and  saving  enough  during  each 
vacation  to  pay  his  expenses  through  each  succeeding  term.  In  this  way 
he  managed  to  reach  his  Junior  year,  in  the  meantime  maintaining  a  high 
standing  in  his  class,  and  even  taking  some  of  the  college  "honors," 
among  which  may  be  mentioned  two  first  prizes  for  essays — one  in  his 
Freshman  year,  on  "The  Relations  Between  Elocution  and  Oratory" — 
the  other  in  his  Sophomore  year,  on  "The  Comparative  Advantages  of 
the  Pulpit  and  the  Bar  as  Fields  of  Effective  Oratory." 

During  his  Junior  year,  in  1853,  ^e  was  urged  by  friends  of  William 
H.  Seward  to  take  the  editorial  management  of  the  Syracuse  DAILY 
JOURNAL,  a  vacancy  in  which  having  recently  occurred.  The  place  being 
urged  upon  him,  he  finally,  though  reluctantly  abandoning  his  college 
course,  determined  to  accept  it.  It  was  deemed  "a  good  opening  for  the 
young  man,"  and  so  it  proved.  He  was  the  editor  of  the  Syracuse  DAILY 
JOURNAL  nearly  three  years,  when,  quite  unexpectedly,  he  received  an 
invitation  from  R.  L.  &  C.  L.  Wilson,  then  proprietors  of  the  Chicago 
EVENING  JOURNAL,  to  assume  an  editorial  position  on  that  paper.  Hav- 
ing long  had  his  mind  on  the  West  as  a  desirable  and  advantageous  field, 
he  promptly  accepted  this  call,  and  in  July,  1856,  became  editorially  con- 
nected with  the  EVENING  JOURNAL. 

In  1864,  Governor  Oglesby,  on  assuming  the  Executive  office  of 
Illinois,  appointed  Mr.  Shuman  State  Penitentiary  Commissioner.  In 
lS68,  this  office  was  made  elective,  and  Mr.  Shuman,  being  nominated 
by  the  Republican  State  Convention,  was  elected  Penitentiary  Commis- 
sioner for  a  term  of  six  years;  but,  owing  to  the  pressure  of  his  editorial 
duties,  in  1870  he  resigned  the  office,  having  held  it  five  years,  and  during 
that  time  was  instrumental  in  improving  and  reforming  the  prison  system 
of  the  State,  both  in  its  disciplinary  government  and  its'  economical 
management.  On  the  twenty-fourth  of  May,  1876,  he  was  unanimously 
nominated  by  the  State  Republican  Convention  for  the  office  of  Lieutenant 
Governor,  and  was  elected. 


33I 


CHAPTER  XX. 


RELIEF    AND    AID    SOCIETY. 

One  of  the  finest  traits  of  Chicago  character  is  the  cherished  remem- 
brance of  the  material  sympathy  which  was  expressed  by  the  world  in 
the  sad  affliction  of  1871.  The  worst  feature  of  human  character  is  for- 
getfulness  of  needed  favors  when  the  necessity  no  longer  exists.  So 
exceptional  in  the  history  of  our  race  is  the  remembrance  of  assistance 
beneath  the  clouds,  after  the  sunshine  has  gladdened  the  soul,  that  those  who 
manifest  it  are  regarded  as  above  the  average  of  mankind.  The  people  of 
Chicago,  although  possessing  one  of  the  finest  cities  in  the  world,  and 
cherishing  the  reasonable  belief  that  it  is  to  be  the  greatest  on  the  conti- 
nent, never  forget  that  they  were  once  stricken  and  that  charity  flowed  in 
upon  them  as  freely  as  the  waters  of  the  lake  roll  upon  the  shore. 

After  a  description  of  prosperity,  therefore,  it  has  been  thought  that 
it  would  be  emblematic  of  the  character  of  our  people,  to  insert  the  chapter 
detailing  the  management  of  charities  after  the  great  fire  of  1871.  That  was 
a  novel  position  for  a  people  to  be  placed  in.  As  one  has  already  written, 
"bread  was  to  be  furnished  to  the  hungry,  and  raiment  to  the  insufficiently 
clad;  hope  needed  a  resurrection  in  the  hearts  of  the  despondent;  the 
bereaved  needed  the  ministi'ies  of  consolation;  the  sick  required  the  nurse 
and  the  physician;  the  homeless  were  to  be  sheltered;  the  dying  were  to 
be  proffered  the  offices  of  religion,  and  the  dead  granted  the  last  cere- 
monial and  service  that  man  renders  to  his  fellow."  But,  with  the  royal 
assistance  of  mankind,  Chicago  was  able,  to  discharge  all  these  delicate 
duties.  >(S  On  Monday  afternoon,  October  9th,  1871,  a  meeting  of  the  city 
officials  and  prominent  citizens  was  held  at  the  First  Congregational 
Church.  A  call  was  issued  at  that  meeting  for  the  assembling  of  citizens 
and  officials  at  the  same  place  on  the  same  evening.  The  call  meeting 
convened  at  eight  o'clock,  and  it  appointed  two  from  each  ward  to  act  as 
a  relief  committee.  The  Mayor  was  subsequently  added  to  the  committee. 
At  a  meeting  of  the  Relief  Committee,  held  on  the  next  evening,  it  was 
voted  to  make  the  First  Congregational  Church  the  headquarters  of  the 
committee,  and  iL  was  ordered  that  a  notice  be  published  that  when 
the  homeless  and  Destitute  could  not  find  accommodations  at  the  churches 
and  school  houses — which  were  generally  open  for  the  purpose — the  com- 
mittee would  attend  to  such  cases.  On  the  twelfth  of  October  the 
distribution  of  supplies  was  committed  to  the  hands  of  the  Chicago  Relief 
and  Aid  Society,  and  the  General  Relief  Committee  ceased  to  exist.  ^  On 


322  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

the  thirteenth  of  October  the  Mayor  issued  his  proclamation  constituting 
the  Relief  and  Aid  Society  the  almoner  of  the  world's  charity.  In  this 
proclamation  the  Mayor  said  that  he  deemed  it  best  for  the  interests  of  the 
city  to  entrust  the  distribution  of  the  charities  to  this  society,  which  was 
an  old  incorporated  organization,  which  for  many  years  had  commanded 
the  confidence  of  the  public.  The  Mayor  conferred  upon  the  society, 
partly  in  deference  to  the  wishes  of  General  Sheridan,  the  power  to  im- 
press teams  and  labor,  and  procure  quarters,  so  far  as  might  be  necessary, 
for  the  transportation  and  distribution  of  contributions,  and  the  care  of  the 
sick  and  disabled. 

The  Chicago  Relief  and  Aid  Society  was  incorporated  by  an  Act  of 
the  legislature  and  approved  February  i6th,  1857.  Edwin  C.  Lamed, 
Mark  Skinner,  Edward  I.  Tinkham,  Joseph  D.  Webster,  Joseph  T.  Ryer- 
son,  Isaac  N.  Arnold,  Norman  B.  Judd,  John  H.  Dunham,  A.  H.  Mueller, 
Samuel  S.  Greeley,  B.  F.  Cook,  N.  S.  Davis,  George  W.  Dole,  George 
W.  Higginson,  John  H.  Kinzie,  John  Woodbridge,  Jr.,  Erastus  S. 
Williams,  Philo  Carpenter,  George  W.  Gage,  S.  S.  Hayes,  Henry  Farn- 
ham,  William  H.  Brown  and  Phillip  J.  Wardner  were  the  incorporators. 
The  object  of  the  corporation  was  to  provide  a  permanent,  efficient  and 
practical  mode  of  administering  and  distributing  the  private  charities  of 
the  city  of  Chicago,  and  to  obtain  full  and  reliable  information  of  the 
wants  of  the  poor.  In  the  Autumn  of  1857  the  society  was  organized 
under  this  charter.  Since  that  time  it  has  been  one  of  the  most  efficient 
helps  to  government,  and  one  of  the  greatest  blessings  to  the  poor  that 
ever  existed  in  any  nation  or  any  city.  Its  work  is  so  systematically  done 
that  imposition  is  next  to  impossible,  and  the  poor  need  never  suffer.  Into 
such  hands  the  Mayor  showed  wisdom  in  placing  the  control  of  the  large 
contributions  which  were  pouring  into  the  city  after  its  great  calamity. 
'  On  the  morning  of  the  nineteenth  of  October,  the  following  commu- 
nication appeared  in  the  public  press  of  the  city :  "In  order  that  the  public 
may  understand  the  condition  of  the  organization  for  the  distribution  of 
contributions  for  the  sufferers  by  the  Chicago  fire,  it  should  be  known  that 
the  Mayor  of  the  city  of  Chicago,  as  well  as  the  Citizens'  Committee,  have 
turned  over  all  contributions  to  the  Chicago  Relief  and  Aid  Society,  and 
that  aside  from  that  Society  there  is  no  other  authorized  to  receive  contri- 
butions for  general  distribution. 

There  are  many  special  societies  as  well  as  individuals  to  whom 
special  donations  have  been  directed.  These  are  doing  an  excellent  work 
and  cannot  be  dispensed  with. 

Our  object  is,  to  direct  attention  to  the  fact  that  there  is  no  conflict  in 
the  work,  and  that  contributions  for  the  general  fund  should  come  to  this 
Association.  R.  B.  MASON,  Mavor.'V/"' 

'tfr 

(On  the  same  date  the  Relief  and  Aid  Society  addressed  the  subjoined 
communication  to  all  newspapers  :  j'The  response  to  the  sufferings  of 
our  stricken  citizens  was  so  spontaneous  and  universal,  that  money,  cloth- 
ing, and  provisions  were  sent  not  only  to  the  authorities  of  our  city,  but 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  323 

to  many   individuals,   some   of  which,  owing  to  the  derangement   of  all 
business,  may  have  miscarried. 

To  the  end  that  these  unparalleled  contributions  may  be  preserved, 
judiciously  applied,  and  sacredly  accounted  for,  we  ask  all  persons  and 
committees  everywhere  to  send  to  this  society  duplicate  statements,  so  far 
as  possible,  of  all  articles  and  especially  of  sums  of  money  sent  for  our 
aid,  together  with  the  name  of  the  person  o^r  society  to  whom  sent. 

A  complete  record  of  the  sources  of  these  contributions,  together  with 
the  history  of  their  expenditure,  will  be  preserved  for  future  publication. 
All  newspapers,  at  home  and  abroad,  are  requested  to  publish  this  circular. 

Address  WIRT  DEXTER, 

Chairman  Executive  Committee  Relief  and  Aid  Society." 

The  total  number  of  different  families  aided  from  October,  1871,  to  May,  1873.  .  39  242 
Average  number  in  family  .................................................  4 

Total  number  of  persons  aided  ............................................  156  968 

Food  was  given  at  first  indiscriminately,  and  in  uncertain  quantities, 
for  want  of  conveniences  in  measuring  and  weighing.     As  soon  as  possi- 
ble, however,  it  was  reduced  to  fixed  rations,  and  as  the  system  of  distri- 
bution was  perfected,  these  were  given  out  at  intervals  of  two  or  three 
days,  and  finally  of  a  week.     At  first,  as  the  people  had  few  conveniences 
for  cooking,  bread   was  given  instead  of  flour,  at  an  increased  cost  of 
forty-two  cents  to  the  ration.      This  was   afterward  almost  wholly  saved, 
as  most  of  the  applicants  were  supplied  with  stoves,  and  baked  their  own 
bread.     Crackers,  for  the  first  few  days,  were  substituted  for  bread,  when 
the  supply  of  bread  was  insufficient.     All  the  crackers  used,  however, 
were  contributions  from  abroad.    Coffee  or  tea  was  given,  as  the  applicant 
preferred;  but  tea,  which  was  the  cheaper,  was  the  more  usually  chosen. 
The  following  ration  for  a  family  of  five  persons  was  found  to  be  sufficient 
for  one  week  : 
Three  pounds  pork,  at  five  and  one-half  cents  ................................     16^ 

Six  pounds  beef,  at  five  cents  ...............................................     30 

Fourteen  pounds  flour,  at  three  cents  ........................................     42 

One  and  one-fourth  peck  potatoes,  at  twenty  cents  ........  ....................     25 

One-  fourth  pound  tea  at  eighty  cents  ........................................     20 

One  and  one-half  pounds  sugar,  at  eleven  cents  ...............................     16^ 

One  and  one-fourth  pounds  rice,  at  eight  cents  ;  or  three  and  one-half  pounds 

beans,  at  three  and  three-fourths  cents  ...................................     12 

One  and  one-fourth  pounds  soap,  at  seven  cents  ..............................     09 

One  and  one-half  pounds  dried  apples,  at  eight  cents  ......................    .  .      12 

Three  pounds  fresh  beef,  at  five  cents  ................................  ,  ......      15 


Total  .........................  ..............................  $  i  98 

If  bread,  at  four  cents  per  pound,  was  used  instead  of  flour,  the  cost  was  increased  .  ..    42 
If  crackers  at  seven  cents  per  pound  ...........................................  i  05 

If  one  and  one-half  pounds  of  coffee  instead  of  tea  ..............................     17 

The  demand  for  clothing  was  incessant  and  immense.  The  larger 
proportion  of  those  who  were  sufferers  by  the  fire  lost  their  personal 
:ipparel  and  their  household  goods.  Immediate  and  urgent  need  was  only 
very  partially  met  by  the  bountiful  supplies  which  were  sent  forward  from 
all  quarters.  Much  of  this  supply  was  of  second  hand  Summer  clothing, 
which  was  all  that  people  could  lay  their  hands  on  in  the  first  emergency. 


324 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 


It  answered  a  good  though  only  a  temporary  purpose,  and  the  necessity 
of  substituting  for  it  better  and  warmer  garments  was  constant  and  im- 
perative. The  markets  of  this  country  could  not  supply  the  demand  for 
blankets  alone.  Where  the  supply  of  ready-made  clothing  was  insuffi- 
cient, piece  goods  were  given  out  in  measured  quantities  to  applicants  to 
make  up  for  themselves.  In  this  work  great  assistance  was  rendered  by 
associations  of  ladies,  as  the  Ladies'  Relief  and  Aid  Society;  the  Ladies' 
Industrial  Aid  Society  of  St.  John's  Church;  the  Ladies'  Christian  Union; 
the  Ladies'  Society  of  Park  Avenue  Church;  and  the  Ladies'  Society  of 
The  Home  of  The  Friendless;  all  of  these  societies  employed  a  large 
number  of  sewing  women,  thrown  out  of  employment  by  the  fire,  in  mak- 
ing up  garments,  bed  comforters,  bed-ticks,  and  other  articles,  from  piece 
goods  supplied  by  the  Relief  Society  to  be  returned,  thus  manufactured, 
to  the  several  depots  for  distribution. 

The  following  table  will  show  the  distribution  of  general  relief  from 
October,  1871,  to  April  2oth,  1873: 


ARTICLES. 

Rent  paid,  dollars  

NO.  DISTRIBUTED. 

C.S  OCK  4.1 

ARTICLES.                                NO. 

\Vhite  and  gray  blankets.  .  . 

DISTRIBUTED. 
76  7C.8 

Tons  coal   

47  74.Q 

.Bed  and  pillow  ticks  

2  241 

Cords  wood  

I4.C 

Comforts        

IO  3.0,8 

Pounds  flour  

2  2Q4  8O2 

Sheets.       

3.  1  2O 

meal  

64  6n.yz 

.  .  ..        15  O22 

pork   

.      4O4  84O 

Pieces  of  pipe  

C2  474 

beef.  

.    620  7io 

Tables         

Q  332 

bread  

...     727  24O 

Bedsteads     

16  776 

crackers   

.    18^  641 

Chairs                              

-2  1     C$6 

fish  

24  7^1 

Pieces  crockery         

68  140 

.  ..     2C4  771 

Wash  tubs     

o  77? 

candles  

.     I7O  <U2 

Pails 

4  O7l 

cheese  

4  227 

\Vash  boards                  

6  386 

tea  

44  0403/6 

Tin  ware     .       

04 

coffee  

...       72  O77 

...                34 

sutrar.  . 

.     717  Oil  14 

oo    • 

"       lemons           

I  O4 

bacon  

7-2  CO7 

274 

hams           .  .  .  .  . 

6  988 

Bottles  wine                    .      .  . 

2Q 

butter  

i  08754 

Pairs  shoes                     

77  244 

fruit,  dried  

178  8o63/ 

"     men's  hose        

18  160 

salt  

7  1.18 

"     women's  hose     .      ... 

V)  142 

rice  

6?  772  '/ 

Knives  and  forks  .'  .  . 

27 

fresh  beef  

£  II*  A 
I    14.8  O74 

Clothes  wringer  

.  .  ..                    I 

lard  

I  64^ 

Men's  clothing  

.      131   332 

mutton  

10  116 

\Vomen's  clothing  

.     I  ?4  IOI 

Cans  canned  fruit  

2C7 

.      IO7  344 

"            "     vegetables 

1"? 

Yards  wool  flannel              .  . 

.    114  cei 

CO 

canton    flannel   

...     90  828 

Bushels  potatoes  

64  O7O3/£ 

prints        

.  .  .    208  042 

"      beans  

7  80614 

sheeting 

.    I  70  IZ1/4 

"      onions  

8615 

jeans  .  .       

869151 

Pecks  turnips  

72 

ticking           

47O 

82C 

towTeling 

...         4  0^4 

"      svruo  . 

I    7QI 

water-proof 

•)  184 

Packages  corn  starch.  .  . 

00 

crash 

286 

"         farina     

I2C 

Rubber  blankets 

.  2 

"        ex.  beef  

126 

Heads  cabbage 

22 

Mattresses  

28  901 

Brooms  

.   .              6 

Pillows  

15*2 

Pounds  fresh  pork  

442 

Immediately  after  the  fire,  the  Board  of  Health  began  to  gather  the 
sick  and  injured  who  could  not  find  refuge  in  private  families,  into  churches 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  325 

and  school  houses  where  they  were  tenderly  cared  for  by  physicians  and 
citizens,  who  very  generally  tendered  their  services.  In  order  that  there 
might  be  as  little  delay  as  possible,  the  sanitary  policemen  were  authorized 
by  the  Mayor  to  impress  teams  for  the  transportation  of  the  sick  from  the 
prairies  and  vacant  lots  whither  they  had  been  driven  by  the  flames.  At 
the  headquarters  of  the  Citizens'  Committee,  corner  of  West  Washington 
and  Ann  streets,  Drs.  Ranch  and  Johnson,  of  the  Board  of  Health,  and 
Dr.  J.  E.  Oilman  of  the  Citizens'  Committee  were  constantly  engaged  in 
assigning  physicians  and  providing  medicines  and  stores  for  the  churches 
and  other  buildings  used  as  temporary  hospitals. 

When  the  Relief  and  Aid  Society  took  charge  of  the  general  relief 
work  in  accordance  with  the  proclamation  of  the  Mayor,  it  assigned  to 
Dr.  H.  A.  Johnson  the  special  duty  of  organizing  and  directing  this  depart- 
ment, with  authority  to  associate  with  himself  such  members  of  the  medical 
profession  as  he  should  think  best.  The  following  gentlemen  comprised 
the  committee  as  finally  constituted:  Dr.  H.  A.  Johnson,  Chairman,  and 
Drs.  B.  McVickar,  R.  Ludlam,  M.  J.  Asche,  J.  H.  Rauch,  M.  Manheimer, 
Ernst  Schmidt,  B.  C.  Miller,  and  Reverend  H.  N.  Powers.  Dr.  J.  E. 
Oilman  was  appointed  Secretary. 

In  addition  to  this  provision  for  the  visitation  of  the  sick  at  their 
homes,  dispensaries  were  established  at  convenient  points,  where  such 
patients  as  were  able  to  apply  in  person  for  advice  were  treated,  and  where 
medicines  were  dispensed  upon  the  prescriptions  of  any  physician  certify- 
ing that  his  services  in  the  case  were  gratuitous.  In  the  North  Division  of 
the  city  there  was  only  one  of  these  institutions;  in  the  West  Division 
there  were  three,  and  in  the  South  Division  two.  Medicines  were  also 
dispensed  and  out-patients  treated  at  all  of  the  hospitals. 

For  the  relief  of  such  patients  as  could  not  safely  be  treated  in  their 
homes  or  quarters,  and  who  could  not  apply  at  a  dispensary,  hospital 
accommodations  were  provided.  Fortunately  the  principal  hospitals  of 
the  city  were  in  the  unburned  district.  Arrangements  were  made  with  all 
these  institutions  by  which  patients  were  received  on  account  of  this 
Society,  without  charge  for  medical  and  surgical  attendance,  nursing  and 
general  care;  the  Society  furnishing  only  medicines,  rations,  and  furniture 
for  such  relief  patients  as  were  received  on  its  account.  These  hospitals 
were  as  follows: 

The  Providence  Hospital,  located  just  beyond  the  northern  limits 
of  the  city.  The  Women's  and  Children's  Hospital,  formerly  located 
on  North  State  street,  but  after  the  fire  at  number  598  West  Adams 
street.  This  was  mainly  a  lying-in  hospital.  The  Chicago  Eye  and  Ear 
Infirmary,  under  the  care  of  Dr.  E.  L.  Holmes,  before  the  fire  on  Pearson 
street  in  the  North  Division,  then  at  579  West  Adams  street.  St.  Luke's 
Hospital,  on  Indiana  avenue  between  Fourteenth  and  Sixteenth  streets. 
The  Hahnemann  Hospital,  on  Cottage  Grove  avenue  near  Twenty-ninth 
street.  Mercy  Hospital,  corner  of  Calumet  avenue  and  Twenty-sixth 
street,  and  the  County  Hospital,  on  Arnold  street  near  Eighteenth  street. 


326 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS   DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 


In  addition  to  these  accommodations,  hospitals  were  constructed  in  the 
West  and  North  Divisions  of  the  city.  Patients  were  admitted  to  hospitals 
upon  the  order  of  the  medical  officers  of  the  Chicago  Relief  and  Aid 
Society,  the  Sanitary  Superintendent  of  the  Board  of  Health,  and  the 
County  Physician. 

The  following  table  will  show  the  amount  of  money  contributed  by 
different  States  and  nations,  and  which  this  society  mainly  had  the  hand- 
ling of: 

UNITED  STATES. 


Maine           

$21  043  47 

22  727   15 

5  789  43 
629  672  41 

59  So?  33 
107  183  92 

1  35^45!  50 
158  397  75 
482  976  72 
8  070  70 

l82    122  30 

1  1  362  66 
!5  596  4° 
94  47°  4s 
11500 

i  "755 
2  065  75 
i  049  23 
500 
65  oo 
28  933  96 
8  no  ii 
75  882  25 
46  751  62 

FOR] 

$15346278 
6  707  63 
i  090  oo 
9411  64 
640  70 
i°  393  37 

2  272  25 
402  25 

29563 
IO  677  21 
86845 
I  44105 
I03II  41 

i  635  oo 

2  897  70 

2  325  32 

Illinois  

.  .    $66  527  18 

New  Hampshire  

Kentucky  

27  769  20 

Vermont      

Tennessee  

21  8?6  70 

Massachusetts              .        . 

Michigan  

?S  4.  i  A  6j 

Rhode  Island           

Wisconsin  

4.22  OO 

Connecticut     

Minnesota  

24.  4.17  QO 

Iowa     

17  648  60 

Missouri  

67   COA  2  C 

Pennsylvania     .        

Arkansas  

2  72C  8^ 

Delaware     

Kansas  

21   211  8? 

Maryland   

Nebraska  

17  47O  12 

Colorado  Territory  

12  8«  8; 

\Vest  Virginia         

Nevada  Territory  

i  ^oc:  Si 

District  of  Columbia  

California  

.      1  68  <CI2  4.1 

North  Carolina  

Oregon  

.  .      ii  881  C2 

South  Carolina.                 

Dakota  Territory  

OQ  OO 

Georgia       

Washington  Territory  

I    "\OQ  8l 

Florida  

Utah  Territory  

I?   ^S  I    II 

Alabama  

Wyoming  Territory  

800  oo 

Mississippi                     .        

New  Mexico  

I  4QC   CO 

Louisiana    .              

Miscellaneous  

?6i  e6 

Texas 

Total,  United  States  S 

Ohio  

$3846032  71 

•^ 

..  $4.1  C  O2  1  1  8 

Indiana                   

SIGN. 
England  

Nova  Scotia           

Wales  

1  163  4.6 

Newfoundland  

Ireland  

74.  161  16 

New  Brunswick     .          

Scotland  

7C  11  C  62 

British  Columbia   

France  ..... 

62  782  80 

Island  of  Cuba  

Belgium  

III  OO 

Holland     .  .    . 

24.1    1C 

Central  Americ?   

Germany   .  .  . 

8l   1Q1  2Q 

Venezuela  

Austria  

3  801  50 

Brazil             .  .        

Switzerland 

1  C  74.O  O  C 

Argentine  Republic  

Russia  .... 

IAC  OI 

Uruguay  .  . 

Italy  

84,7  71 

Peru             .              

Portugal. 

117  28 

Total,  Foreign  

China  

,$97389780 

71 
80 

65 

India     .          

$7  R,ifi  C\TJ 

Total,  United  States 
Total,  Foreign  

Q73  SQV 

Addenda  

217 

Total  Sum $4  820  148  16 


327 


CHAPTER  XXL 


PLACES    OF    AMUSEMENT. 

At  the  time  of  the  great  conflagration — which  is  as  far  back  as  it 
would  be  profitable  to  go  in  connection  with  the  subject  of  this  chapter — 
Chicago  was  well  supplied  with  theaters  and  halls,  some  of  which  were  as 
beautiful  as  any  in  the  world.  Four  of  the  prominent  theaters  had  just 
undergone  a  complete  renovation  and  refitting  when  the  flames  swept 
them  from  existence.  Crosby's  Opera  House  and  McVicker's  Theater 
were  among  this  number  and  were  billed  for  a  reopening  on  the  evening 
of  the  sad  ninth  of  October,  the  former  to  be  occupied  by  the  Thomas 
Orchestral  Combination,  and  the  latter  by  Mr.  Jefferson  with  Rip  Van 
Winkle.  The  Orchestral  Combination  and  Mr.  Jefferson  arrived  to  fill 
their  engagements  just  in  time  to  witness  the  destruction  of  the  houses  in 
which  they  were  to'  perform.  Crosby's  Opera  House,  with  its  rich 
upholstery,  luxurious  carpets,  bronzes  and  mirrors  was  a  picture  of  ele- 
gance. Eighty  thousand  dollars  had  just  been  expended  in  its  refitting, 
and  a  writer  says  that  a  few  hours  before  the  conflagration,  when  invited 
guests  were  looking  at  it,  "not  one  of  the  few  who  were  present  but  pro- 
nounced it  to  be  the  most  gorgeous  auditorium  in  America."  The  house 
had  had  a  conspicuous  career  previous  to  its  renovation  and  destruction. 
In  April,  1865,  it  was  formally  dedicated  to  music,  and  during  the  six  years 
of  its  existence  had  been  the  instrumentality  of  presenting  to  Chicago  the 
choicest  of  English,  French,  German  and  Italian  Operas.  In  the  Winter 
of  1870,  the  owner  seriously  thought  of  converting  the  auditorium  into 
business  offices,  but  was  dissuaded  from  his  purpose,  a  yielding  to  influence 
which  cost  eighty  thousand  dollars.  McVicker's  theater  was  entirely  new 
except  the  four  walls.  The  interior  had  been  thoroughly  remodeled  and 
a  mansard  roof  had  replaced  the  old  one. 

Hooley's  Opera  House  was  the  result  of  remodeling  an  old  concert 
hall,  called  Bryan  Hall,  the  year  previous.  The  first  year  of  its  existence 
it  was  devoted  to  negro  minstrelsy.  During  the  Summer  of  1871,  it  was 
entirely  remodeled,  the  stage  enlarged  and  thoroughly  equipped,  and  in 
the  following  September  was  opened  by  Frank  Aiken  as  a  comedy  theater. 
It  was-  the  property  of  Richard  M.  Hooley  who  constructed  it,  and  at 
the  date  of  the  fire  was  under  the  management  of  Mr.  Aiken  and  Frank 
Lawler,  whom  Mr.  Aiken  had  associated  with  him  as  partner. 

The  Dearborn  Theater,  which  was  among  the  theaters  destroyed,  was 
also  first  opened  by  Mr.  Aiken.  He  retained  the  management  of  it  but  for 


328  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

a  few  months,  however,  when  it  passed  into  the  hands  of  Brand  and  Van 
Fleet,  and  instead  of  a  dramatic  house,  became  the  house  of  minstrelsy, 
which  it  continued  to  be  until  its  destruction. 

Wood's  Museum  was  one  of  the  early  institutions  of  the  city.  It 
combined  a  theater  and  curiosity  department.  Its  experience  down  to  the 
time  that  its  management  was  assumed  by  Colonel  Wood,  was  of  a  very 
checkered  character.  He  was  a  man  who  had  been  connected  with 
Phineas  T.  Barnum,  and  his  experience  enabled  him  to  make  it  a  success 
while  it  was  under  his  control.  Some  years  before  the  great  fire,  how- 
ever, he  retired  from  its  management,  Mr.  Aiken  succeeding  him.  Again 
the  fortunes  of  the  place  began  to  wane,  and  in  the  Summer  of  1871, 
Colonel  Wood  again  took  charge  of  it.  He  now  refitted  the  building, 
enlarging  the  museum  department,  and  had  just  opened  it  with  a  theatrical 
company  under  the  management  of  J.  S.  Langrishe,  when  it  was  consumed. 

With  the  exception  of  Crosby's  Opera  House,  and  Dearborn  Theater, 
the  theaters  were  rebuilt,  and  new  ones  have  been  added  to  the  list  until 
no  city  in  the  Union  has  a  better  class  of  theaters  than  Chicago.  Wood's 
Museum  was  burned  again  a  few  years  later,  and  since  that  misfortune 
has  not  been  rebuilt  or  had  an  existence.  Mr.  Me  Vicker  erected  a  beauti- 
ful temple  which  bears  his  name,  and  made  of  it  as  handsome  a  place  as 
anything  of  the  character  in  the  country.  It  is  located  on  Madison  street 
between  Dearborn  and  State  streets,  and  its  elegant  front  is  an  ornament  to 
the  city.  Hooley's  Theater  is  a  charming  piece  of  architecture,  and  occupies 
a  conspicuous  location  on  Randolph  street  between  LaSalle  and  Clark 
streets.  Haverly's  Theater  has  been  introduced  since  the  general  destruc- 
tion. It  is  situated  on  the  corner  of  Monroe  and  Dearborn  streets,  and  is 
one  of  the  monuments  to  the  desolation  of  1871.  Previous  to  that  event 
it  was  the  postorfice,  and  belonged  to  the  general  government.  On  the 
ninth  of  October  nothing  but  the  four  walls  remained  to  remind 
the  beholder  of  the  existence  of  an  elegant  building  the  day  before.  The 
government  made  a  trade  with  the  city,  and  the  property  became  a  part 
of  the  school  lands.  At  first  it  was  a  question  whether  it  would  not  be 
best  to  erect  an  entire  new  building  upon  the  site.  The  walls,  however, 
being  strong  it  was  finally  determined  to  retain  them,  and  they  stand 
amidst  the  busy  life  of  to-day  a  scorched  and  battered  remnant  of  Chicago 
before  the  fire.  The  building  was  rebuilt,  with  the  exception  of  the  walls, 
and  became  a  theater.  After  some  vicissitudes  it  passed  into  the  hands  of 
John  H.  Haverly,  who  converted  it  into  a  popular  amusement  resort, 
and  it  is  now  one  of  the  three  leading  theaters — McVicker's,  Hooley's  and 
Haverly's.  In  October,  iSSo,  the  building  was  leased  to  the  First  Na- 
tional Bank,  and  at  the  expiration  of  Mr.  Haverly's  lease  it  will  cease  to 
be  a  theater.  It  is  not  likely,  however,  that  Mr.  Haverly  will  leave  a  city 
in  which  he  has  enjoyed  so  many  triumphs,  and  if  he  does  not  it  is  proba- 
ble that  he  will  erect  one  of  the  finest  theaters  in  the  world. 

The  Academy  of  Music  is  located  on  South  Halsted  street,  and  is  one 
of  the  best  appointed  theaters  in  the  city.  The  present  building  is  a  new 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  329 

one,  the  old  Academy  of  Music  having  twice  shared,  at  late  dates,  the  fate 
of  the  South  Side  houses.  It  is  the  principal  theater  in  the  West  Division, 
and  is  really  a  work  of  architecture  which  is  beautifying  to  the  city. 

The  Central  Music  Hall,  on  the  corner  of  Randolph  and  State  streets, 
is  a  model  building  of  its  kind,  and  supplies  a  want  which  was  long  felt  in 
the  city.  It  was  completed  in  the  Spring  of  1880.  For  its  existence 
Chicago  is  indebted  to  George  B.  Carpenter,  through  whose  efforts  capital 
was  enlisted  in  the  enterprise.  Mr.  Carpenter  is  the  manager  of  the  hall 
which  his  own  enterprise  has  created. 

Farwell  Hall — named  from  John  V.  Far  well,  an  eminent  merchant 
and  Christian  worker — is  located  on  Madison  street,  between  LaSalle  and 
Clark  streets,  and  is  the  property  and  headquarters  of  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association.  Farwell  Hall  existed  previous  to  the  fire,  and  was 
rebuilt.  It  is  now  a  commodious  and  beautiful  structure,  affording  accom- 
modations for  the  various  purposes  of  the  Association  which  owns  it,  and 
is  used  for  any  respectable  entertainment  or  gathering. 

McCormick  Hall  is  the  largest  in  the  city,  #nd  is  upon  Clark  street 
on  the  North  Side.  It  was  erected  by,  and  is  still  the  property  of  Cyrus 
H.  McCormick.  It  has  been  the  scene  of  many  triumphs  in  art,  music, 
literature  and  representative  politics.  It  was  in  this  hall  that  Zachariah 
Chandler  made  his  last  speech — in  the  Spring  of  1880 — and  from  which 
he  went  to  his  hotel  to  die  before  his  words  had  been  printed.  The  morn- 
ing papers  contained  his  speech,  and  also  the  announcement  of  his  demise. 
Our  wisest  and  most  eloquent  statesmen  and  orators  have  electrified  the 
multitude  within  the  walls  of  this  hall.  In  this  respect  no  other  building 
in  the  city  could  reveal  so  much  of  interest,  if  dead  walls  could  talk. 

Hershey  Music  Hall,  originally  constructed  for,  and  still  principally 
devoted  to  the  advancement  of  musical  science,  is  public  when  required 
for  any  legitimate  purpose.  It  was  opened  by  Mrs.  Hershey,  one  of  our 
most  accomplished  musical  artistes,  who  has  since  become  the  wife  of 
H.  Clarence  Eddy,  an  organist  of  high  reputation. 

These  comprise  the  -principal  places  which  are  now  regularly  or 
occasionally  opened  for  the  amusement  or  instruction  of  the  people.  They 
are  their  own  evidence  of  their  completeness,  and  together  are  a  monu- 
ment to  the  progress  of  our  great  city. 


33° 


RICHARD  M.  HOOLEY. 


Among  the  men  who  occupy  an  exalted  position  in  the  esteem  and 
affection  of  this  community,  Richard  M.  Hooley,  the  proprietor  and  man- 
ager of  Hooley's  Theater,  is  a  conspicuous  figure.  Cherishing  a  jealous 
regard  for  the  reputation,  progress  and  general  welfare  of  the  city  in 
whose  adversity  as  well  as  prosperity  he  has  been  a  participant,  his  citizen- 
ship is  distinguished  for  purity  of  motives  and  ennobling  achievement. 
Enterprising  and  public-sph'ited,  possessed  of  extensive  information  and  a 
large  experience,  a  lover  and  connoisseur  of  art,  and  ambitious  to  be  urbane 
and  pleasing,  the  influence  of  his  life  is  peculiarly  valuable  to  a  new  and 
developing  community ;  and  even  where  types  of  the  most  useful  manhood, 
citizenship  and  enterprise  are  as  plentiful  as  they  are  in  Chicago,  a  life 
like  Mr.  Hooley's  can  never  escape  the  notice  which  its  prominent  indi- 
viduality merits. 

As  a  manager,  our  subject  is  among  the  oldest  in  the  world,  and -that 
our  young  city  has  among  its  permanent  residents  and  active  business  men 
one  entitled  to  such  distinction,  in  a  profession  which  achieves  its  triumphs 
only  among  the  cultured  and  prosperous,  is  one  of  the  evidences  of  the 
rapid  progress  and  high  character  of  this  people;  and  that  M,r.  Houley  in 
the  midst  of  the  smoking  ruins  of  the  ninth  of  October,  1871,  in  which 
were  his  theater  and  his  fortune,  but  neither  his  hope  nor  his  courage,  de- 
termined to  rebuild,  and  to  remain  where  he  had  already  achieved  signal 
triumphs,  is  proof  of  his  appreciation  of  the  intelligence  and  of  his  faith  in 
the  energy  of  Chicago,  as  well  as  of  that  sterling  character  which  has 
made  him  so  valuable  a  citizen. 

Richard  M.  Hooley  was  born  in  Ballina,  Ireland,  April  I3th,  1822, 
and  is  the  son  of  James  and  Ann  Hooley.  When  he  was  three  months 
old,  his  parents  removed  to  Manchester,  England,  where  the  son  spent  his 
boyhood  and  early  manhood.  The  father,  who  was  a  prosperous  merchant, 
was  desirous  of  fitting  Richard  for  the  medical  profession,  and  to  that  end 
afforded  him  every  facility  for  acquiring  a  finished  education.  Accord- 
ingly after  a  sufficient  preparation,  he  entered  the  Hyde  Academy  at 
Manchester — a  typical  English  high  grade  school — in  which  he  remained 
until  he  was  eighteen  years  of  age.  At  this  time  a  talent  for  music  began  to 
develop  so  prominently — the  tastes  of  the  young  man  being  largely  in  that 
direction — that  the  idea  of  making  a  physician  of  him  was  abandoned  and 
he  applied  himself  to  the  study  of  the  art  of  music,  a  change  of  original 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  331 

plans  which,  judging  from  the  character  of  the  man,  as  since  developed, 
lost  to  medical  science  a  close  student  and  an  eminent  representative,  but 
which  contributed  to  another  profession  a  force  which  has  operated  to 
uphold  its  standard  of  honor  and  usefulness,  and  has  added  something  to  its 
fame. 

Having  mastered  first  the  rudiments  and  then  the  delicate  intricacies  of 
the  musical  art,  he  entered  the  theater  as  a  musician,  and  thus  began  a  life 
which  has  been  ceaselessly  active,  more  than  ordinarily  eventful,  and  which 
has  matured  into  honorable  and  useful  prominence.  The  young  musician 
was  not  long  in  a  subordinate  position.  Nature  had  molded  him  to  direct 
and  not  to  be  directed — to  manage  and  not  to  be  managed.  Becoming  in 
the  natural  course  of  events,  therefore,  a  manager,  his  genius  was  soon 
•demonstrated  to  be  of  a  character  particularly  adapted  to  his  chosen  sphere 
of  action,  and  through  all  his  subsequent  life  it  may  be  especially  said  of 
him  that  he  was  and  is  the  right  man  in  the  right  place. 

Mr.  Hooley  has  built,  or  remodeled,  and  managed  more  theaters  than 
any  other  man  now  living,  and  among  the  structures  to  which  his  taste 
has  given  design  or  embellishment  are  theaters  in  London,  New  York, 
Brooklyn,  Williamsburg,  San  Francisco,  Madison,  Philadelphia  and  Chi- 
•cago.  -  For  thirty-six  years  he  has  thus  been  erecting  or  improving  Thespian 
temples,  and  holding  up  the  mirror  for  the  reflection  of  nature ;  and  during 
these  years  has  traveled  all  over  the  United  States,  Canada,  England,  Ire- 
land and  Scotland,  parts  of  France  and  Belgium,  has  made  the  journey  to 
and  from  California,  by  water,  eight  times,  and  once  by  rail,  and  has  seen 
the  world  in  all  of  its  softest  lights  and  varying  shadows.  With  such 
varied  and  valuable  experience  he  made  a  permanent  settlement  in  Chicago 
— which  he  first  visited  in  1845 — in  1869,  and  has  since  devoted  his  energies 
to  maintaining  here  a  theater  which  for  architectural  beauty  and  the  char- 
acter of  the  entertainments  given  upon  its  stage,  is  unsurpassed  and  not 
readily  surpassable.  In  the  great  fire  Mr.  Hooley's  losses  amounted  to 
about  a  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars,  but  with  this  exception,  he  has 
never  met  with  any  very  serious  drawbacks  or  misfortunes. 

In  June,  1858,  Mr.  Hooley  was  married  at  San  Francisco  to  Rosina 
Creamer.  Three  children — all  interesting  and  accomplished  young  ladies 
— whose  names  are  Rosina,  Grace  Eveline  and  Mary,  complete  the  family 
circle,  which  is  in  every  respect  all  that  a  refined  husband  and  father  could 
desire. 

In  personal  appearance  Mr.  Hooley  is  a  man  of  marked  characteristics, 
possessing  a  commanding  presence,  and  having  a  dignified  bearing.  In 
business  and  social  intercourse  he  is  exceedingly  affable,  and  his  manner 
readily  wins  the  respect  and  confidence  of  the  stranger,  as  well  as  gaining 
for  him  the  warm  friendship  of  those  who  are  his  associates.  In  private 
and  public  his  life  is  governed  by  a  strict  regard  for  the  requirements  of 
principle,  and  the  rights  and  happiness  of  those  about  him.  In  all  of  his 
relations  with  the  world  he  is  considerate,  honorable  and  upright. 


332  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 


JOHN   H.  HAVERLY. 

John  H.  Haverly,  the  proprietor  of  Haverly's  Theater,  is  one  of  the 
most  marked  characters  that  has  ever  been  identified  with  Chicago.  As 
an  amusement  caterer,  he  is  a  Napoleon  in  conception  and  execution;  but 
immensely  and  wonderfully  successful  as  he  has  been  in  his  chosen  profes- 
sion, he  would  have  been  equally  so  in  any  calling  that  required  intimate 
knowledge  of  human  nature,  ability  to  instantly  grasp  the  details  of  situa- 
tions, and  marvelous  quickness  of  decision.  As  a  military,  commander  or 
an  executive  of  complicated  government,  few  men  of  whom  history  con- 
tains a  record  would  have  surpassed  him  in  brilliancy  of  design  or 
completeness  of  execution.  This  apparently  extravagant  estimate  of  the 
man  is  abundantly  sustained  by  his  successful  management  of  various 
enterprises,  any  one  of  which  would  tax  to  the  utmost  an  ordinary  mind. 
That  success  in  business  depends  upon  the  personal  attention  and  oversight 
of  the  manager  has  become,  in  view  of  the  business  wrecks  which  have 
resulted  from  a  neglect  to  observe  the  condition,  axiomatic.  Simply  look- 
ing, therefore,  at  Mr.  Haverly's  success,  without  any  knowledge  of  his 
business  habits,  the  inevitable  conclusion  is  that  he  keeps  his  gigantic 
enterprises  well  in  hand — that  no  detail  of  any  one  of  them  is  concealed 
from  his  knowledge. 

But  such  a  conclusion,  in  view  of  the  multifarious  enterprises  which 
he  is  conducting,  and  which  are  widely  separated  from  each  other,  is  really 
of  a  character  that  is  bewildering  to  contemplate;  it  embraces  so  much  of 
superiority  of  natural  endowments  that  it  almost  arouses  incredulity.  In 
Chicago  there  are  Haverly's  Theater,  Haverly's  Mining  Exchange, 
Haverly's  Golden  Group  Mining  Company  and  Haverly's  Jockey  Club 
and  Riding  Park;  in  New  York  we  find  Haverly's  Fifth  Avenue  Theater, 
Haverly's  Fourteenth  Street  Theater  and  Haverly's  Niblo's  Garden;  in 
Brooklyn,  New  York,  the  Brooklyn  Theater  is  under  his  management;, 
and  in  addition  to  these  Haverly's  Mastodon  Minstrels,  and  numerous 
other  troupes  are  constantly  upon  the  road. 

When  it  is  affirmed,  as  it  must  be,  that  all  these  enterprises  are  pros- 
perous and  profitable,  however  much  the  mind  may  be  astonished  at  the 
elasticity,  breadth  and  endurance  of  the  intellect  that  can  plan  and  execute 
upon  a  scale  of  such  magnitude  and  intricacy,  the  fact  remains  unassailed 
and  unassailable.  The  execution  of  plans  he  must  necessarily  largely 
intrust  to  subordinates;  but,  like  the  successful  general,  his  judgment  of 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 


333 


•men  is  unerring,  and  when  his  aids  have  been  selected,  he  imbues  them 
with  his  own  spirit  of  energy  and  fidelity  to  details.  It  is  his  orders  that 
are  being  executed  by  loyal  employees  in  the  presentation  of  a  well 
appointed  entertainment  in  Chicago,  although  the  master  hand  may  be 
thousands  of  miles  away. 

The  entertainments  at  his  theaters  and  by  his  great  combinations  are 
always  of  the  highest  order.  He  is  as  imperial  in  his  tastes  as  he  is  in  the 
management  of  his  complicated  business;  and  thus  naturally  caters  to 
the  amusement  of  the  refined  and  fashionable.  It  is  often  remarked  that 
Mr.  Haverly  can  assume  the  management  of  any  theater,  however  much 
it  may  have  suffered  in  reputation,  and  at  once  restore  it  to  the  confidence 
•of  the  public.  In  Chicago  there  is  not  a  shadow  of  doubt  that  this  would 
be  possible.  As  reflected  upon  his  stage  his  character  is  the  same  as  when 
reflected  in  his  office — rapid  in  execution  and  satisfactory  in  all  its  features. 
Approaching  him  upon  business,  his  decision  is  quick,  his  answer  final, 
and  he  is  ready  for  the  next  applicant  for  a  hearing.  Mining  business, 
perhaps,  may  be  thus  first  dispatched;  then  a  matter  concerning  the  Jockey 
Club,  then  the  complaint  or  request  of  a  performer;  now  a  presentation 
of  some  scheme  in  which  he  has  no  interest,  and  again  an  outside  project 
which  may  strike  him  favorably  and  attract  his  attention — whatever  the 
character  of  the  picture  of  the  constantly  moving  panorama  passing  before 
this  busy  man,  that  happens  to  open  to  him,  it  is  soon  motioned  away  to 
give  place  to  another;  and  this  is  an  accurate  picture  of  his  management 
as  a  director  of  public  amusements.  First  the  standard  opera  occupies  the 
boards  at  his  theater;  then  comes  the  most  popular  drama  and  dramatic 
troupe  in  the  country;  these  are  supplanted  by  burlesque  opera,  which  in 
turn  gives  way  to  comedy,  to  be  quickly  followed  by  superior  negro 
minstrelsy,  or  other  change  of  an  interesting  character.  In  fact  his  theater 
and  his  life  are  typical  of  well  directed  impetuosity. 

Haverly 's  Theater  in  Chicago,  is,  from  its  associations,  an  interesting 
monument  of  a  most  interesting  event  in  the  history  of  Chicago.  It  stands 
at  the  corner  of  Monroe  and  Dearborn  streets,  and  its  walls  bear  evi- 
dence of  the  terrible  fury  of  the  great  conflagration.  As  a  fire  relic, 
with  the  path  of  the  devastator  marked  upon  it,  it  is  appreciated  by  every 
Chicagoan  who  passed  through  that  terrible  ordeal,  and  the  visitor  views 
it  with  some  such  feeling  as  he  would  regard  an  ancient  and  disfigured 
obelisk. 

This  brief  history  of  one  of  Chicago's  most  popular  theaters,  and  of 
one  of  the  world's  most  successful  theatrical  managers  and  business  men 
is  upon  the  verge  of  closing.  It  is  impossible  in  this  limited  space  to  detail 
the  steps  by  which  Mr.  Haverly  has  risen  to  his  present  eminence,  or  to 
prophesy  the  reasonable  possibilities  of  the  future.  He  is  yet  a  young 
man,  having  been  born  in  1837,  at  Bellfonte,  Pennsylvania.  His  tastes 
have  always  been  in  the  direction  in  which  he  is  now  making  his  successes, 
and  from  every  indication  the  belief  is  warranted  that  he  will  become  the 
richest  as  he  is  now  one  of  the  most  famous  of  Chicago's  public  men. 


334 


WILLIAM   B.  CLAPP. 


In  this  age  of  colossal  enterprise  and  marked  intellectual  energy, 
the  prominent  and  successful  men  in  the  commercial  world  are  those 
whose  abilities,  persistence  and  courage  lead  them  into  large  undertakings, 
and  to  assume  the  responsibilities  and  labors  of  leaders  in  their  respective 
avocations.  Commercial  success,  as  at  present  regarded,  consists  in  abso- 
lute leadership,  and  whatever  falls  below  this,  however  really  meritorious, 
is  but  indifferently  regarded.  The  day  of  small  things  in  the  marts  of  trade 
is  past,  and  the  footsteps  of  the  millions  are  directed  toward  our  mammoth 
stores  and  manufactories,  passing  with  irritating  haste  the  small  establish- 
ments of  those  who  have  been  unable  to  keep  abreast  with  the  tendencies 
of  the  times.  The  fact  that  the  humble  shop-keeper  has  been  swallowed 
up  by  the  extensive  establishment  by  his  side;  that  the  steam  factory  has 
overshadowed  the  solitary  mechanic  at  his  bench,  and  that  our  large 
wholesale  houses  have  made  the  smaller  ones  of  little  use  and  of  less 
profit,  may  be  unpleasant  for  the  distanced  and  defeated  in  the  manufac- 
turing and  commercial  race  to  contemplate,  yet,  nevertheless,  it  is  a  fact. 
The  judicious  use  of  large  capital  in  business  enterprises  makes  these 
results  inevitable,  but  capital  alone  is  not  sufficient  to  do  it.  Business 
competition,  when  opposition  in  trade  rises  to  the  dignity  of  competition, 
is  eminently  a  conflict  of  mind,  in  which  the  best  endowed  and  most 
thoroughly  trained  intellect,  supplemented  by  integrity  and  honesty, 
achieves  the  victory.  In  a  contest  between  brain  and  capital,  the  former 
will  win,  and  when  both  are  united  they  compose  a  more  formidable 
force  than  the  grandest  of  armies  most  thoroughly  equipped.  It  is  per- 
fectly natural,  therefore,  for  the  world  to  be  interested  in  men  who  have 
achieved  the  greatest  business  success,  and  are  proprietors  of  our  great 
business  establishments,  for  the  divinity  of  mind  always  excites  our 
warmest  admiration.  Hence,  we  give  place  here  to  a  sketch  of  the  life 
of  William  B.  Clapp,  the  senior  proprietor  of  the  large  wholesale  jewelry 
house  of  William  B.  Clapp,  Brother  &  Company  at  the  corner  of  Slate 
and  Monroe  streets. 

William  B.  Clapp  was  born  at  Montgomery,  Franklin  county,  Ver- 
mont, July  3d,  1831.  His  parents'  names  were  Joshua  and  Fannie  Clapp. 
The  father  was  a  prominent  and  useful  citizen,  being  at  one  time  State 
Senator,  and  for  four  or  five  terms  a  member  of  the  lower  house  of  the 
State  legislature,  beside  serving  as  clerk  of  his  town  for  torty  years. 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  335 

Until  he  was  eighteen  years  of  age,  William  lived  at  his  native  place, 
dividing  his  time  between  labor  on  his  father's  farm  and  attendance  upon 
the  common  school,  giving,  however — as  is  usual  in  such  cases — much 
more  time  to  work  than  to  the  school-room.  But  farm  life  was  not  con- 
genial to  a  mind  that  was  so  well  calculated  to  achieve  grandly,  if  it  but 
had  the  opportunity,  and  at  the  age  mentioned,  young  Clapp  went  to 
Springfield,  Massachusetts,  where  he  became  apprenticed  to  the  jewelry 
business.  After  remaining  here  for  three  years,  during  which  he  thor- 
oughly mastered  the  details  of  a  business  in  which  he  has  since  become 
so  prominent,  he  removed  to  Boston,  Massachusetts,  and  opened  a  retail 
jewelry  store.  At  the  expiration  of  three  years  he  entered  into  a 
co-partnership  with  another,  and  leaving  the  retail  business,  opened  and 
successfully  conducted  a  wholesale  establishment.  In  1858  he  removed 
to  Cincinnati,  where  he  continued  in  the  business  of  wholesale  jewelry; 
and  in  1863  he  connected  himself  with  the  mercantile  business  in  Pittsburgh, 
Pennsylvania,  building  the  same  year,  also,  the  Pittsburgh  Opera  House, 
then  the  finest  theater  in  that  city. 

In  1869,  Mr.  Clapp  came  to  Chicago,  where  he  has  built  up  one  of 
the  largest  wholesale  jewelry  houses  in  the  country,  and  has  made  his 
name  synonymous  with  the  most  advanced  enterprise  not  only  in  this 
principal  line  of  business  but  in  other  undertakings  which  have  greatly 
benefited  the  city  of  his,  adoption.  He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the 
Wilson  Packing  Company,  which  is  one  of  the  largest  concerns  in  this 
city  engaged  in  the  great  industry  of  packing  preserved  meats.  Another 
of  the  monuments  to  his  public  spirited  enterprise  is  the  beautiful 
Academy  of  Music,  located  on  Halsted  street,  near  Madison,  The 
original  Academy  was  built  by  him  in  December,  1871,  the  entire  con- 
struction of  the  building  and  its  first  opening  being  accomplished  within 
thirty  days  from  the  date  of  his  purchase  of  the  ground,  one  of  the  many 
incidents  in  his  busy  life  that  shows  the  natural  energy  of  his  character. 
In  1873  Mr.  Clapp  rebuilt  and  remodeled  the  house,  making  it  a  very 
much  finer  structure  than  the  original  was.  The  new  building  was 
destroyed  by  an  incendiary  fire  in  1877,  when  it  was  immediately  rebuilt  by 
the  proprietor,  he  first  having  purchased  twenty-five  feet  additional 
ground,  enabling  him  to  construct  a  building  seventy-five  by  one  hundred 
feet,  which  is  the  present  size  of  the  Academy.  October  loth,  1880,  the 
theater  was  again  partially  destroyed  by  fire,  but  was  at  once  rebuilt,  at 
a  cost  of  about  fifty  thousand  dollars.  In  this  last  reconstruction  Mr.. 
Clapp  determined  to  make  the  house  the  finest  and  safest  theater  not  onlv 
in  the  city  but  in  the  world,  and  with  this  purpose  in  view  he  raised  the 
walls  eight  feet;  entirely  rebuilt  the  stage,  introducing  all  modern  improve- 
ments; constructed  two  fire-proof  buildings  which  are  entirely  separate 
from  the  theater  and  are  used  for  the  storage  of  stage  properties  and 
surplus  scenery,  and  for  the  accommodation  of  the  carpenter  and  other 
workmen,  and  connected  the  theater  with  the  insurance  patrol.  The 
stage  of  the  Academy  is  now  unsurpassed  by  any  stage  in  the  world,  and 


336  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

the  house  itself  is  not  only  the  most  beautiful  but  is  as  nearly  fire-proof 
as  it  is  practicable  to  make  a  theater.  The  present  Academy  was  re-opened 
December  i6th,  1880,  and  the  unanimous  verdict  of  the  public  at  the 
time  was  that  for  beauty,  convenience  and  safety  it  could  not  be  excelled. 
Naturally  the  people  of  the  West  Side  are  pardonably  proud  of  this 
temple  of  the  drama,  and  they  show  their  appreciation  of  the  enterprise 
which  created  it  in  their  midst  by  bestowing  upon  it  a  patronage  which 
makes  it  the  most  profitable  theater  in  America. 

Mr.  Clapp  was  married  at  Boston,  Massachusetts,  in  1853,  to  Char- 
lotte Gove,  of  that  city,  with  whom  he  lived  happily  until  1862,  when 
she  died  at  Cincinnati,  Ohio.  He  was  married  a  second  time,  in  1864,  to 
Anna  Hoag,  of  Boston,  and  has  one  child,  Annie  Louise,  born  Novem- 
ber 30th,  1878. 

William  B.  Clapp  has  been  the  architect  of  his  own  fortune.  In  the 
broadest  sense  a  self-made  man,  he  has  reached  his  prominence  and  won 
the  universal  respect  which  he  enjoys  by  an  arduous  application  of  his 
natural  talents  to  his  business  pursuits  and  an  uncompromising  upright- 
ness of  character.  In  all  his  vast  dealings  with  the  world,  he  has  never 
suffered  his  word  or  his  acts  to  be  compromised  by  equivocation  or 
subterfuge,  but  has  been  throughout  his  business  career  straightforward 
and  conscientious. 


337 


CHAPTER  XXII. 


NOTABLE    EVENTS    OF    NATIONAL    CHARACTER. 

Chicago  as  now  situated  is  the  theater  of  grander  events  which  are 
made  or  celebrated  by  large  gatherings  of  people  than  is  possible  in  any 
other  city  of  the  Union.  This  is  made  possible  by  her  vast  railroad  sys- 
tem, which  taps  every  district  in  the  entire  settled  portions  of  the  coun- 
try. From  almost  every  important  point  of  the  nation  the  passenger  for 
this  city  can  take  his  seat  in  the  car,  and  give  himself  no  more  concern 
until  the  arrival  at  the  point  of  his  destination  is  announced;  he  may  travel 
over  many  roads  but  they  all  lead  in  unbroken  connections  to  Chicago. 
On  extraordinary  occasions,  therefore,  the  multitude  pours  into  the  city 
from  all  points  of  the  compass,  like  an  avalanche  on  the  Alps.  From  the 
Atlantic's  culture  and  primness  and  the  Pacific's  beauty  and  enterprise; 
from  the  snows  of  Canada  and  the  bloom  of  the  Gulf;  from  palace  and 
cottage,  and  from  factory  and  farm  the  people  rush  to  witness  anything  of 
an  unusual  character  which  is  presented  in  this  empire  city  of  the  West. 
With  all  the  hotel  accommodations  which  Chicago  possesses — and  they 
are  immense — she  is  unable  to  furnish  a  temporary  home  beneath  a  roof 
for  the  throngs  that  crowd  upon  her  on  great  occasions. 

With  such  facilities,  therefore,  it  is  natural  that  this  should  be  a  favorite 
point  for  great  gatherings  and  important  displays.  Political  conventions, 
secret  society  annuals,  national  trade  gatherings,  and  meetings  of  similar 
character,  are  now  appointed  here  with  a  frequency  that  makes  their  pres- 
ence of  scarcely  more  than  ordinary  notice  by  the  citizen,  who  walks  the 
streets  and  threads  his  way  among  the  visiting  strangers  with  his  proverbial 
haste,  as  if  nothing  unusual  were  occurring  in  the  midst  of  our  people, 
stopping,  if  at  all,  in  his  persistent  pursuit  of  business  to  be  civil  to  a 
stranger  who  may  be  bold  enough  to  accost  the  apparent  runaway.  The 
people  of  Chicago  although  usually  in  a  hurry,  always  have  time  to  direct 
a  stranger,  and  to  make  him  feel  that  his  presence  is  welcome  and  that 
the  honor  of  his  visit  is  appreciated.  When  a  visitor  is  accorded  treatment 
different  from  this,  it  may  be  fearlessly  assumed  that  he  has  met  a  man  of 
recent  importation,  or  one  to  whom  Chicago  has  been  so  partial  that  she 
has  improved  his  fortunes  until  they  are  greater  than  his  breeding  or  his 
intellect. 

But  the  city  does  not  rely  upon  the  more  recent  events  of  a  national 
character  which  have  occurred  within  her  domains,  to  distinguish  her  as 
one  of  the  most  prominent  cities  of  the  nation  as  linked  with  modern 


33$  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

national  history.  Some  of  these  have  already  been  described  in  foregoing 
chapters.  But  others  of  equal  interest  remain  to  be  mentioned,  and  among 
them  the  Republican  National  Convention  which  placed  Abraham  Lincoln 
in  nomination  for  the  Presidency  is  notable.  The  convention  assembled 
May  1 6th,  1860.  It  was  generally  expected  that  William  H.  Seward,  of 
New  York,  would  receive  the  nomination,  and  among  those  who  most 
ardently  expected  it  was  Mr.  Seward  himself.  Upon  common  principles 
of  reasoning,  his  nomination  was  something  more  than  a  probability.  He 
was  the  one  bright  intellectual  star  of  his  party,  and  was  the  very  gener- 
ally acknowledged  embodiment  of  its  principles.  He  had  proclaimed 
that  an  irrepressible  conflict  existed  between  freedom  and  slavery,  and 
although  he  was  somewhat  in  advance  of  the  courage  of  his  party,  it  was 
pretty  well  understood  that  the  Republican  party  cherished  no  love  for 
the  institution  of  slavery,  and  that  it  only  awaited  proper  opportunity  to 
at  least  confine  it  to  itself.  Mr.  Seward,  however,  failed  of  a  nomination, 
and  the  convention  inaugurated  the  political  policy  which  has  controlled 
this  government  for  the  past  twenty  years.  Abraham  Lincoln  was  the 
nominee.  He  had  been  a  member  of  Congress,  but  when  nominated  for 
the  Presidency  was  simply  a  practicing  lawyer  at  the  capital  of  Illinois. 
His  success  in  the  convention  was  undoubtedly  owing  to  his  joint  discus- 
sion with  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  through  the  State,  the  year  previous, 
the  object  of  which  was  to  secure  a  legislature  that  would  elect  one  of  the 
respective  disputants  to  the  United  States  Senate.  Mr.  Douglas  triumphed. 
But  although  Mr.  Lincoln  could  but  have  seen  the  effect  he  had  made 
upon  the  nation,  and  might  have  hoped  for  the  nomination  at  the  Chicago 
convention,  he  could  hardly  have  expected  it.  He  received  three  hun- 
dred and  fifty-four  out  of  four  hundred  and  sixty-six  votes  on  the  third 
ballot.  Besides  Mr.  Seward,  he  had  as  formidable  competitors  Salmon  P. 
Chase  and  Edward  Bates. 

As  already  noticed  Mr.  Lincoln  was  elected  in  the  following  Novem- 
ber, defeating  Stephen  A.  Douglas  and  John  C.  Breckenridge,  Democrats, 
and  John  Bell,  who  ran  upon  a  ticket  on  which  Edward  Everett  was  the 
candidate  for  Vice  President,  under  the  auspices  of  the  "Union"  party. 
The  South  made  preparations  at  once  to  disrupt  the  Union,  and  patriots 
were  anxious  and  feverish.  They  were  willing  to  sink  partisan  animosities 
and  strike  hands  with  any  one  who  would  raise  the  flag  of  the  nation,  and 
defy  those  who  would  tear  it  from  its  staff.  Among  this  class  was  the  great 
Douglas  who  had  just  met  with  defeat  and  had  really  suffered  a  blight- 
ing of  his  fondest  hopes.  On  the  first  of  May — after  Mr.  Lincoln  had  been 
inaugurated  and  the  civil  war  had  begun — this  statesman  and  patriot  was 
tendered  a  reception  by  the  people  of  Chicago — in  whose  midst  his  remains 
now  rest,  guarded  by  the  veneration  of  those  of  every  political  faith,  while 
his  name  is  upon  every  Chicago  heart — and  he  made  the  following  speech: 

"I  thank  you  for  the  kind  terms  in  which  you  have  been  pleased  to 
welcome  me.  I  thank  the  committee  and  citizens  of  Chicago  for  this 
grand  and  imposing  reception.  I  beg  you  to  believe  that  I  will  not  do 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 


339 


you  nor  myself  the  injustice  to  believe  this  magnificent  ovation  is  personal 
homage  to  myself.  I  rejoice  to  know  that  it  expresses  your  devotion  to 
the  constitution,  the  Union,  and  the  flag  of  our  country. 

I  will  not  conceal  gratification  at  the  incontrovertible  test  this  vast 
audience  presents — that  what  political  differences  or  party  questions  may 
have  divided  us,  yet  you  all  had  a  conviction  that  when  the  country  should 
be  in  danger,  my  loyalty  could  be  relied  on.  That  the  present  danger  is 
imminent,  no  man  can  conceal.  If  war  must  come,  if  the  bayonet  must 
be  used  to  maintain  the  constitution,  I  can  say  before  God  my  conscience 
is  clean.  I  have  struggled  long  for  a  peaceful  solution  of  the  difficulty.  I 
have  not  only  tendered  those  States  what  was  theirs  of  right,  but  I  -have 
gone  to  the  very  extreme  of  magnanimity. 

The  return  we  receive  is  war,  armies  marched  upon  our  capital,  obstruc- 
tions and  dangers  to  our  navigation,  letters  of  marque  to  invite  pirates  to 
prey  upon  our  commerce,  a  concerted  movement  to  blot  out  the  United 
States  of  America  from  the  map  of  the  globe.  The  question  is,  Are  we 
to  maintain  the  country  of  our  fathers,  or  allow  it  to  be  stricken  down  by 
those  who,  when  they  can  no  longer  govern,  threaten  to  destroy? 

What  cause,  what  excuse  do  disunionists  give  us  for  breaking  up  the 
best  government  on  which  the  sun  of  heaven  ever  shed  its  rays?  They 
are  dissatisfied  with  the  result  of  a  presidential  election.  Did  they  never 
get  beaten  before?  Are  we  to  resort  to  the  sword  when  we  get  defeated 
at  the  ballot  box  ?  I  understand  it  that  the  voice  of  the  people  expressed 
in  the  mode  appointed  by  the  constitution  must  command  the  obedience 
of  every  citizen.  They  assume,  on  the  election  of  a  particular  candidate, 
that  their  rights  are  not  safe  in  the  Union.  What  evidence  do  they  pre- 
sent of  this?  I  defy  any  man  to  show  any  act  on  which  it  is  based.  What 
act  has  been  omitted  to  be  done?  I  appeal  to  these  assembled  thousands 
that  so  far  as  the  constitutional  rights  of  the  Southern  States,  I  will  say 
the  constitutional  rights  of  slaveholders,  are  concerned,  nothing  has  been 
done,  and  nothing  omitted,  of  which  they  can  complain. 

There  has  never  been  a  time  from  the  day  that  Washington  was 
inaugurated  first  President  of  these  United  States,  when  the  rights  ot 
the  Southern  States  stood  firmer  under  the  laws  of  the  land  than  they  do 
now;  there  never  was  a  time  when  they  had  not  as  good  cause  for  dis- 
union as  they  have  to-day.  What  good  cause  have  they  now  that  has  not 
existed  under  every  administration? 

If  they  say  the  Territorial  question — now,  for  the  first  time,  there  is 
no  act  of  Congress  prohibiting  slavery  anywhere.  If  it  be  the  non- 
enforcement  of  the  laws,  the  only  complaints  that  I  have  heard  have  been 
of  the  too  vigorous  and  faithful  fulfillment  of  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law. 
Then  what  reason  have  they? 

The  slavery  question  is  a  mere  excuse.  The  election  of  Lincoln  is  a 
mere  pretext.  The  present  secession  movement  is  the  result  of  an  enormous 
conspiracy  formed  more  than  a  year  since — formed  by  leaders  in  the 
Southern  Confederacy  more  than  twelve  months  ago. 


340  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

They  use  the  slavery  question  as  a  means  to  aid  the  accomplishment 
of  their  ends.  They  desired  the  election  of  a  Northern  candidate,  by  a 
sectional  vote,  in  order  to  show  that  the  two  sections  cannot  live  together. 
When  the  history  of  the  two  years  from  the  Lecompton  charter  down  to 
the  presidential  election  shall  be  written,  it  will  be  shown  that  the  scheme 
was  deliberately  made  to  break  up  this  Union. 

They  desired  a  Northern  Republican  to  be  elected  by  a  purely  North- 
ern vote,  and  then  assign  this  fact  as  a  reason  why  the  sections  may  not 
longer  live  together.  If  the  disunion  candidate  in  the  late  presidential 
contest  had  carried  the  united  South,  their  scheme  was,  the  Northern  can- 
didate successful,  to  seize  the  Capital  last  Spring,  and  by  a  united  South 
and  divided  North  hold  it.  That  scheme  was  defeated  in  the  defeat  of  the 
disunion  candidate  in  several  of  the  Southern  States. 

But  this  is  no  time  for  a  detail  of  causes.  The  conspiracy  is  now 
known.  Armies  have  been  raised,  war  is  levied  to  accomplish  it.  There 
are  only  two  sides  to  the  question.  Every  man  must  be  for  the  United 
States  or  against  it.  There  can  be  no  neutrals  in  this  war;  only  patriots 
or  traitors. 

Thank  God,  Illinois  is  not  divided  on  this  question.  I  know  they 
expected  to  present  a  united  South  against  a  divided  North.  They  hoped 
in  the  Northern  States,  party  questions  would  bring  civil  war  between 
Democrats  and  Republicans,  when  the  South  would  step  in  with  her 
cohorts,  aid  one  party  to  conquer  the  other,  and  then  make  easy  prey  of 
the  victors.  Their  scheme  was  carnage  and  civil  war  in  the  North. 

There  is  but  one  way  to  defeat  this.  In  Illinois  it  is  being  so  defeated 
by  closing  up  the  ranks.  War  will  thus  be  prevented  on  our  own  soil. 
While  there  was  a  hope  of  peace,  I  was  ready  for  any  reasonable  sacrifice 
or  compromise  to  maintain  it.  But  when  the  question  comes  of  war  in 
the  cotton-fields  of  the  South,  or  the  corn-fields  of  Illinois,  I  say  the 
farther  off  the  better. 

We  cannot  close  our  eyes  to  the  sad  and  solemn  fact  that  war  does 
exist.  The  government  must  be  maintained,  its  enemies  overthrown,  and 
the  more  stupendous  our  preparations  the  less  the  bloodshed,  and  the 
shorter  the  struggle.  But  we  must  remember  certain  restraints  on  our 
action  even  in  the  time  of  war.  We  are  a  Christian  people,  and  the  war 
must  be  prosecuted  in  a  manner  recognized  by  Christian  nations. 

We  must  not  invade  constitutional  rights.  The  innocent  must  not  suf- 
fer, nor  women  and  children  be  the  victims.  Savages  must  not  be  let  loose. 
But  while  I  sanction  no  war  on  the  rights  of  others,  I  will  implore  my 
countrymen  not  to  lay  down  their  arms  until  our  own  rights  are  recognized. 

The  constitution  and  its  guarantees  are  our  birthright,  and  I  am  ready 
to  enforce  that  inalienable  right  to  the  last  extent.  We  cannot  recognize 
secession.  Recognize  it  once,  and  you  have  not  only  dissolved  govern- 
ment, but  you  have  destroyed  social  order — upturned  the  foundations  of 
society.  You  have  inaugurated  anarchy  in  its  worst  form,  and  will  shortly 
experience  all  the  horrors  of  the  French  Revolution. 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  341 

Then  we  have  a  solemn  duty — to  maintain  the  government.  The 
greater  our  unanimity,  the  speedier  the  day  of  peace.  We  have  prejudices 
to  overcome  from  the  few  short  months  since  of  a  fierce  party  contest. 
Yet  these  must  be  allayed.  Let  us  lay  aside  all  criminations  and  recrimina- 
tions as  to  the  origin  of  these  difficulties.  When  we  shall  have  again  a 
country  with  the  United  States  flag  floating  over  it,  and  respected  on 
every  inch  of  American  soil,  it  will  then  be  time  enough  to  ask  who  and 
what  brought  all  this  upon  us. 

I  have  said  more  than  I  intended  to  say.  It  is  a  sad  task  to  discuss 
questions  so  fearful  as  civil  war;  but  sad  as  it  is,  bloody  and  disastrous  as 
I  expect  it  will  be,  I  express  it  as  my  conviction  before  God,  that  it  is  the 
duty  of  every  American  citizen  to  rally  round  the  flag  of  his  country.  I 
thank  you  again  for  this  magnificent  demonstration.  By  it  you  show  you 
have  laM  aside  party  strife.  Illinois  has  a  proud  position — united,  firm, 
determined  never  to  permit  the  government  to  be  destroyed." 

Among  all  the  notable  events  of  a  national  character  that  have  hap- 
pened on  this  eventful  spot  none  have  been  so  thrilling,  so  inspiring  to 
patriotism  and  so  instructive  to  all  posterity  as  this  reception  to  and  speech 
by  our  noble  Douglas. 

In  1864  the  National  Democratic  Convention  assembled  in  Chicago, 
meeting  on  the  twenty-ninth  of  August.  George  B.  McClellan  was 
nominated  at  this  convention.  The  citizens  were  unduly  alarmed  at  the 
approach  of  this  meeting;  they  feared  that  the  Southern  prisoners  of  war 
confined  in  Camp  Douglas  would  make  a  demonstration  to  escape,  and, 
succeeding,  burn  the  city,  or  do  some  other  desperate  thing.  At  this 
remote  day,  it  would  probably  be  difficult  to  find  one  who  would  admit 
that  he  thought  any  political  party  assembled  in  National  Convention, 
would  be  silly  enough  to  invoke  or  permit  such  a  demonstration,  even  if  it 
could  control  it.  But  at  that  time  it  was  thought  necessary  to  bring  an 
additional  military  force  to  the  city  to  protect  it  from  the  National  Demo- 
cratic Convention,  which  nominated  so  harmless  a  man  as  George  B. 
McClellan. 

On  May  2oth,  1868,  the  convention  which  nominated  Ulysses  S.  Grant 
for  the  Presidencv,  assembled  in  Chicago. 

In  the  Fall  of  1872  an  event  which,  perhaps,  may  be  termed  national, 
occurred  in  the  appearance  of  Patrick  H.  Gilmore,  with  a  band,  to  give  a 
concert  in  the  newly  erected  depot  of  the  Lake  Shore  and  Michigan 
Southern  Railroad  company.  The  new.  and  beautiful  depot  of  this  road 
had  been  completed,  and  Mr.  Gilmore  who  had  achieved  notoriety  a  year 
or  two  previous,  by  conducting  what  was  known  as  a  Peace  Jubilee  in 
Boston,  in  which  about  all  the  bands  in  creation  were  employed,  arranged 
to  give  a  concert  within  the  structure.  At  the  time  Mr.  Gilmore  was  of 
national  renown,  and  deserves  to  have  his  performances  noted,  although 
the  most  important  thing  really  was  that  a  magnificent  depot  had  been 
built  upon  the  ruins  of  the  great  fire. 

In  1860,  through   the   public   spirited   efforts   of  John   Wentworth — 


342  CHICAGO  AND  ITS   DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

then  Mayor  of  the  city — the  Prince  of  Wales  was  induced  to  visit  Chicago 
on  his  tour  through  the  country.  This  event  was  made  the  most  of,  and 
the  Prince  was  entertained  in  a  style  that  would  have  done  credit  to  a 
much  older  municipality. 

In  the  month  of  September,  1878,  one  of  the  grandest  firemen's 
processions  that  ever  paraded  in  any  city  was  witnessed  in  our  streets. 
Companies  were  here  from  all  the  main  sections  of  the  country,  and  the 
line  of  march  was  thronged  with  our  citizens  and  adorned  with  our  beauti- 
ful women.  Rutherford  B.  Hayes,  President  of  the  United  States,  was 
in  the  procession,  and  this  was  the  only  occasion  on  which  the  sixteenth 
President  ever  appeared  before  our  whole  people. 

November,  1879,  was  the  month  in  which  Ulysses  S.  Grant,  ex-Presi- 
dent of  the  nation,  was  received  in  Chicago,  after  his  tour  around  the 
world.  General  Grant  had  deserved  well  of  his  countrymen.  He  had  led 
their  armies  to  victory,  and  had  been  President  for  two  consecutive  terms. 
In  his  travels  abroad  he  had  been  received  as  no  other  American  ever  was. 
Whatever  might  have  been  the  motive  for  this  foreign  adulation,  it  is  not 
the  place  here  to  inquire.  He  came  home  to  meet  the  gratitude  of  a  peo- 
ple whose  country  and  homes  he  had  saved,  and  in  addition,  to  receive 
the  plaudits  of  those  who  think  that  a -man  who  has  dined  with  a  king  or 
a  prince,  should  be  a  consecrated  idol.  The  former — who  were  largely 
in  the  majority — and  the  latter,  who  obscured  their  minority  by  their 
enthusiasm,  co-operated  to  make  the  reception  of  General  Grant  in  Chicago 
an  event  which  will  never  be  forgotten  while  a  tongue  remains  to  tell  or 
a  page  of  history  to  relate  the  grandeur  of  the  scene.  The  city  was 
decked  in  holiday  attire;  business  was  suspended;  the  streets  were  crowded; 
windows  were  filled  with  the  elite  of  the  city  and  the  country,  and  in  the 
evening  the  prominent  business  buildings  were  elegantly  illuminated.  The 
entire  city  was  devoted  to  seeing  General  Grant. 

The  Summer  of  1880  was  a  memorable  one  as  a  season  of  national 
gatherings.  First  came  the  National  Republican  Convention,  which 
assembled  in  June.  The  Exposition  building  had  been  prepared  for  this 
assemblage,  and  room  was  provided  for  about  nine  thousand  people.  Chi- 
cago partook  of  the  excitement  which  the  country  was  experiencing,  some 
time  before  the  gathering  of  the  "clans,"  but  she  had  no  conception  of 
the  intense  excitement  which  she  was  to  endure,  until  after  the  assembling 
of  the  convention,  or  more  properly  speaking,  after  the  delegates  had 
arrived.  Never  in  the  political  history  of  the  country  had  there  been 
such  bitter  antagonism  in  a  party  between  the  friends  of  candidates  for  the 
Presidency,  as  was  exhibited  in  this  contest  for  the  nomination  of  a  party 
standard  bearer.  Ex-President  Grant,  James  G.  Blaine,  John  Sher- 
man, George  F.  Edmunds  and  Elihu  B.  Washburne,  were  the  principal  can- 
didates. The  friends  of  each  candidate  deemed  it  wisdom  to  abuse  the  other 
candidates,  or  the  one  which  happened  to  be  most  in  the  way  of  the  suc- 
cess of  a  favorite,  with  a  license  that  even  the  opposite  party  would  scarcely 
dare  claim.  Mass  meetings  in  the  interests  of  the  different  aspirants,  were 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS   DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  343 

held  on  the  night  previous  to  the  assembling  of  the  convention  and  a 
torrent  of  abuse  poured  out  upon  them  all.  General  Grant,  whom  a  whole 
people  had  applauded  a  few  months  previous,  was  painted  as  the  most 
corrupt  and  inefficient  executive  that  ever  sat  in  the  Presidential  Chair. 
Mr.  Blaine  and  Mr.  Sherman  were  villainously  traduced;  and  all  were 
slandered  by  their  own  household!  The  record  of  such  proceedings  is 
one  of  the  shadows  that  mar  the  really  brilliant  character  of  the  human 
race,  and  attributes  to  professional  politics  a  shame  that  drives  thousands 
of  conscientious  American  citizens  from  participating  in  political  contests. 
However,  the  convention  assembled,  and  the  excitement  increased.  Ex- 
President  Grant  had  the  support  of  the  best  political  managers  of  the 
party,  among  whom  were  Senator  Conkling,  of  New  York,  Senator 
Donald  Cameron,  of  Pennsylvania,  and  Senator  Logan,  of  Illinois.  To 
those  outside  of  professional  politics,  it  appeared  that  General  Grant  was 
absolutely  sure  of  the  nomination.  His  support  was  about  three  hundred 
and  nine  votes  against  all  the  balance,  and  although  it  stood  at  that  figure 
for  a  length  of  time  that  must  be  described  as  days,  it  seemed  as  if  such 
able  managers  as  had  his  interests  in  charge  must  eventually  succeed. 
This,  however,  was  a  mistake.  After  nearly  a  week's  contest,  General 
James  A.  Garfield,  of  Ohio — who  was  not  a  candidate  at  all — received  the 
nomination.  General  Chester  A.  Arthur,  of  New  York,  was  nominated 
for  the  office  of  Vice  President. 

Following  this  convention  came  the  National  Convention  of  the 
Greenback  party,  which  assembled  in  the  Exposition  building  directly 
after  the  adjournment  of  the  Republican  Convention,  and  continued  in 
session  until  Saturday  morning,  holding  an  all-night  session  on  the  night 
previous,  during  which  they  nominated  General  James  B.  Weaver,  of  Iowa, 
for  President,  and  E.  J.  Chambers,  of  Texas,  for  Vice  President. 

Then  came  the  twenty-first  triennial  conclave  of  the  Knights  Templar, 
which  surpassed  anything  ever  held  in  the  city.  The  conclave  was  in- 
augurated on  the  fourteenth  of  August,  and  continued  through  the  week. 
It  was  estimated  that  five  hundred  thousand  people  visited  Chicago  on  this 
occasion.  The  hotels  were  crowded,  boarding  houses  were  crowded,  and 
every  room  that  was  for  rent  was  occupied.  The  Lake  Park  was  covered 
with  tents,  which  were  filled  with  Templars  and  their  ladies.  The  parade 
was  the  finest  display  ever  made  in  America.  Between  ten  and  fifteen 
thousand  Knights  were  in  line,  with  their  banners  and  elegant  uniforms. 
Chicago  had  the  right  to  feel  proud  of  such  a  demonstration.  The  success 
of  the  conclave  was  largely  due  to  Norman  T.  Gassette,  the  Sir  Knight 
who  was  chairman  of  the  committee  which  had  charge  of  the  arrangements. 


344 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 


THE    LEADING    SECRET    SOCIETIES. 

To  give  an  accurate  description  of  individual  lodges  and  branches  of 
the  great  orders  which  are  termed  secret  societies,  would  necessarily  imply 
a  familiarity  with  all  the  organizations,  which  few  men  possess,  and  the 
editor  of  this  volume  is  not  among  that  few.  Such  a  minute  description, 
however,  would  be  interesting  only  to  the  comparative  few  who  might 
belong  to  the  lodge  described.  A  general  description  would,  on  the  con- 
trary, be  of  interest  to  even  opponents  of  secret  organizations.  In  a  vol- 
ume entitled  the  "Treasm-es  of  Science,  History  and  Literature,"  written 
by  Moses  Folsom,  and  published  at  Chicago  by  Moses  Warren,  we  find 
a  very  accurate  description  of  the  societies  which  we  shall  here  mention, 
and  we  adopt  it  with  some  minor  alterations  : 

FREEMASONRY. 

"Great  antiquity  is  claimed  for  this  order.  It  is  said  to  have  had  its 
origin  in  the  '  ancient  mysteries,'  yet  well-informed  Masons  date  its  active 
beginning  only  from  the  building  of  King  Solomon's  temple.  The  priests 
of  Dionysus  (Bacchus),  in  Asia  Minoij,  having,  it  is  alleged,  devoted  them- 
selves to  architectural  pursuits,  established  a  society  of  builders,  styled  by 
ancient  writers  'The  Fraternity  of  Dionysian  Architects.'  To  this  society 
was  confided  the  privilege  of  erecting  temples  and  public  buildings.  To 
facilitate  business  and  government  they  were  divided  into  bands  or  lodges, 
each  of  which  was  governed  by  a  master  and  two  wardens.  The  existence 
of  this  order  in  Tyre,  at  the  time  of  the  building  of  the  temple,  is  thought 
probable;  and  Hiram,  a  widow's  son,  of  that  city  was  selected  by  Solomon 
to  superintend  his  workmen.  The  building  of  the  temple  gave  a  great 
impetus  to  architecture.  Upon  the  completion  of  the  beautiful  structure, 
the  workmen  dispersed  to  extend  their  knowledge  and  renew  their  labors 
in  other  lands. 

During  the  first  sixteen  centuries  of  the  Christian  era,  according  to 
the  advocates  of  the  great  antiquity  of  Masonry,  bands  of  artisans,  under 
the  name  of 'Free  and  Accepted  Masons,'  roamed  over  Europe  and  Asia 
for  the  purpose  of  erecting  churches  and  other  public  edifices;  and  many 
of  the  grand  old  cathedrals  of  the  mother  lands  stand  to-day  as  monu- 
ments of  their  skill.  During  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century  the 
order  gradually  changed  from  operative  to  speculative  masonry,  as  it  now 
exclusively  stands.  Grand  lodges  were  established  in  nearly  every  Euro- 
pean country  during  the  early  years  of  the  last  century,  and  to-day  the 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  345 

order  is  the  strongest  and  most  cosmopolitan  in  existence,  embracing  nearly 
every  nationality. 

When  and  where  the  order  of  Masonry  was  first  introduced  into  the 
United  States  appears  to  be  a  matter  of  some  doubt,  even  among  the  best 
informed  of  the  fraternity;  and  the  fact  that,  prior  to  the  year  1717,  lodges 
were  not  compelled  to  keep  any  regular  record,  leaves  no  authentic  data 
whereby  to  trace  its  origin.  It  is  generally  conceded,  however,  that 
Masonry  in  the  United  States  dates  from  the  year  1733,  when  Anthony, 
Lord  Viscount  Montague,  grand  master  of  England,  on  application  of 
several  brethren  residing  in  New  England,  appointed  and  constituted 
Henry  Price  as  provincial  grand  master  over  all  the  lodges  in  New  England, 
who,  on  the  thirtieth  of  July,  1733,  constituted  the  first  grand  lodge  of 
Freemasons  on  the  American  continent.  This  was  known  as  St.  John's 
grand  lodge,  which  title  it  retained  until  it  was  united,  in  1792,  with  the 
grand  lodge  founded  by  the  Earl  of  Dalhousie,  grand  master  of  Scotland, 
of  which  General  Joseph  Warren,  who  fell  at  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill, 
was  the  first  grand  master.  Henry  Price  was  a  successful  merchant  of 
Boston,  and  is  generally  looked  upon  as  the  father  of  Masonry  in  the 
United  States.  The  order  rapidly  spread,  and  before  the  end  of  the  last 
century  a  number  of  States  boasted  of  their  grand  lodges  and  grand  com- 
mancleries. 

Masonry  has  its  foundation  in  what  is  commonly  called  the  '  Blue 
Lodge,'  consisting  of  three  degrees — Entered  Apprentice,  Fellow  Craft 
and  Master  Mason.  During  the  last  two  hundred  years  not  less  than  one 
hundred  rites  or  systems  have  sprung  up  in  various  parts  of  the  world,  but 
without  permanent  existence.  Of  these  the  most  conspicuous  are  as  fol- 
lows: 

The  York  Rite,  which  takes  its  name  from  the  city  of  York,  England, 
where,  in  926,  as  is  claimed,  the  first  grand  lodge  of  that  country  was 
organized;  and  it  is  also  the  most  extensively  diffused.  To  the  three  primi- 
tive degrees  have  been  added  in  modern  times  other  degrees,  viz. :  Mark 
Master,  Past  Master,  Most  Excellent  Master  and  Royal  Arch,  collectively 
known  as  the  Chapter.  The  High  Priest,  Royal  Master  and  Select  Master 
compose  the  Council;  High  Priest  is  not  strictly  a  degree,  but  is  an 
honorary  feature  conferred  on  the  first  officer  of  the  Chapter.  The  Com- 
mandery  is  composed  of  three  degrees,  viz.:  Knights  of  the  Red  Cross, 
Knights  of  Malta  and  Knights  Templar. 

The  Scotch  Rite,  more  familiarly  known  as  the  Ancient  and  Accepted 
Scottish  Rite,  has  thirty-three  degrees,  and  next  to  York  Masonry  is  the 
strongest.  The  three  primitive  degrees  constitute  the  Symbolic  Lodge. 
Then  comes  the  Lodge  of  Perfection  with  eleven  degrees,  viz. :  Secret 
Master,  Perfect  Master,  Intimate  Secretary,  Provost  and  Judge,  Intendant 
of  the  Building,  Elected  Knight  of  the  Nine,  Illustrious  Elect  of  the  Fifteen, 
Sublime  Knight  Elected  of  the  Twelve,  Grand  Master  Architect,  Knight 
of  the  Ninth  Arch  or  Royal  Arch  of  Solomon,  and  Grand  Elect  Perfect 
and  Sublime  Mason.  The  Council  of  the  Princes  of  Jerusalem  follows. 


346  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

with  two  degrees — Knight  of  the  East  or  Sword,  and  Prince  of  Jerusalem. 
The  Chapter  of  Rose-Croix  is  next,  with  two  degrees — Knight  of  the  East 
and  West,  and  Sovereign  Prince  of  Rose-Croix.  Then  follows  the 
Consistory  of  Princes  of  the  Royal  Secret,  with  fourteen  degrees — Grand 
Pontiff,  Venerable  Grand  Master  of  all  Symbolic  Lodges,  Noachite  or 
Prussian  Knight,  Knight  of  the  Royal  Axe  or  Prince  of  Libanus,  Chief 
of  the  Tabernacle,  Prince  of  the  Tabernacle,  Knight  of  the  Brazen  Ser- 
pent, Prince  of  Mercy  or  Scotch  Trinitarian,  Sovereign  Commander  of 
the  Temple,  Knight  of  the  Sun  or  Prince  Adept,  Knight  of  St.  Andrew 
or  Patriarch  of  the  Crusades,  Knight  of  Kadosh,  Grand  Inspector  Inquis- 
itor General,  and  Sublime  Prince  of  the  Royal  Secret.  The  Supreme 
Council  has  one  degree — the  thirty-third — Sovereign  Grand  Inspector 
General. 

Adoptive  Masonry  is  a  name  given  to  certain  degrees  invented  for 
ladies  who  have  claims  upon  the  order,  through  their  male  relatives  being 
members.  The  American  Adoptive  Rite,  known  as  the  order  of  the 
Eastern  Star,  consists  of  five  degrees,  as  follows:  Jephthah's  daughter,  or 
the  daughter's  degree;  Ruth,  or  the  widow's  degree;  Esther,  or  the  wife's 
degree;  Martha,  or  the  sister's  degree;  and  Electa,  or  the  benevolent 
degree. 

The  principles  and  objects  of  Masonry  are  briefly  set  forth  in  the  fol- 
lowing extract: 

Masonry  inculcates  Morality,  Brotherly  Love  and  Charity,  but  the  greatest  of 
these  is  Charity — not  that  Charity  which  vaunteth  itself  and  consists  simply  in  giving, 
but  that  Charity  which  gives  with  humility,  which  deals  gently  with  a  brother's  failings, 
which  forgives  while  it  admonishes,  and  chastens  while  it  loves;  which  relieves  the  dis- 
tresses of  a  needy  brother,  comforts  the  widow  and  orphan,  and  binds  up  the  wounds 
of  the  afflicted. 

The  doctrines  taught  by  Masonry  are  a  belief  in  God,  the  immortality  of  the  soul, 
and  the  resurrection  of  the  body.  Thes.e  are  strongly  enforced  by  symbols,  and  ex- 
plained in  a  manner  known  only  to  the  initiates.  The  human  heart  dwells  and  delights 
in  ceremony  and  mystery,  and  it  is  an  established  fact  that  nothing  conveys  information 
so  readily,  or  impresses  it  so  vividly  on  the  human  mind,  as  symbolism.  The  Latin 
Church  understood  this  fully,  and  has  exhausted  her  ingenuity  in  forming  a  ritual  which 
should  attract  the  eye  and  please  the  senses.  The  most  popular  teachers  of  the  day  are 
the  lecturers,  especially  when  they  are  aided  by  illustrations. 

With  its  simple  creed,  Masonry  goes  quietly  on  her  mission  and  unfurls  her  ban- 
ner to  the  human  race  wherever  it  is  found,  whether  in  Afric's  torrid  zone  or  Green- 
land's icy  mountains;  whether  in  the  sunny  isles  of  the  far  Eastern  Archipelago,  or  the 
more  temperate  zone  of  our  own  beloved  country.  No  clime,  no  race,  no  color,  no  re- 
ligion is  exempted.  None  save  the  atheist  and  bondman  are  refused.  All  people  have 
been  and  can  be  her  votaries,  and  around  her  sacred  altars  are  to  be  found  the  Christian 
and  the  Jew,  the  Hindoo  and  the  Chinese,  the  Mohammedan  and  the  savage.  In  her 
mystic  circle  all  distinctions  vanish  and  all  meet  upon  the  level.  Neither  birth,  nor 
rank,  nor  genius,  nor  religion,  nor  politics  has  any  preference  there;  but  gathered 
around  one  common  altar,  all  can  subscribe  to  her  simple  articles  of  faith,  and  join  in 
one  united  prayer  and  praise  to  the  Great  Architect  of  the  universe,  our  Father 
in  Heaven,  who  is  the  same  yesterday,  to-day  and  forever. 

ODD    FELLOWSHIP. 

A  love  of  mystery,  and  a  veneration  for  antiquity,  has   induced   most 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  347 

associations  to  claim  an  origin  traceable  to  the  remotest  ages.  The  greatest 
exertion  of  tradition  in  behalf  of  this  order  was  to  make  Adam  the  founder, 
as  no  doubt  for  one  short  while  our  great  forefather  was  an  odd  fellow. 
Another  pretension  is  that  the  order  was  founded  among  the  Jewish  priest- 
hood by  Moses  and  Aaron.  Other  legends  ascribe  the  origin  to  the 
Romans,  Goths,  Huns,  Moors — but  these  proofless  stories  have  been  rejected 
by  the  grand  lodge  of  the  United  States. 

The  positive  historical  record  of  the  order  shows  that  in  the  eighteenth 
century  there  existed  in  London  lodges  of  mechanics  and  laborers,  calling 
themselves  'Ancient  and  Honorable  Loyal  Odd  Fellows.'  Their  meet- 
ings were  convivial,  and  one  penny  a  week  was  contributed  to  a  fund  for 
relief  of  the  poor.  In  1813,  at  Manchester,  the  order  was  reformed,  its 
convivial  character  dropped,  and  the  name  chosen:  '  Independent  Order 
of  Odd  Fellows.'  The  '  Manchester  Unity '  now  remains  the  main  body 
of  the  British  Odd  Fellows,  with  five  hundred  thousand  members. 

In  1806  a  lodge  of  Odd  Fellows  was  instituted  in  New  York  city  known 
.as  the  Shakespeare  lodge,  from  its  place  of  meeting,  '  The  Shakespeare 
House.'  The  life  of  this  lodge,  however,  was  very  short.  In  1816  the  Prince 
Regent  lodge,  also  in  New  York,  was  established.  This  lodge,  like  its 
predecessor,  was  short  lived,  and  it  remained  for  Thomas  Wildey,  a  Balti- 
more coach  trimmer,  to  lay  the  foundations  of  the  order  in  the  United 
States  so  broad  and  deep  that  half  a  century  has  attested  their  strength 
and  structure.  Mr.  Wildey  was  a  native  of  England,  and  came  to  America 
in  1818.  On  April  26th,  1819,  with  four  other  persons,  he  instituted 
Washington  lodge,  No.  i,  at  Baltimore,  Maryland.  A  lodge  was  founded 
at  Boston  in  1820,  and  one  at  Philadelphia  in  1821. 

The  history  of  Odd  Fellowship  in  America,  commencing  with  the 
little  Baltimore  lodge,  has  been  the  record  of  a  triumphal  march.  To-day 
its  membership  is  counted  by  scores  of  thousands,  and  there  is  scarcely  a 
hamlet  in  the  United  States  where  the  three  golden  links  of  the  Odd  Fel- 
lows are  not  displayed. 

The  order  is  organized  in  a  manner  similar  to  the  Freemasons.  The 
primary  body  is  the  subordinate  lodge,  which  derives  its  power  from  a 
charter  granted  by  the  grand  lodge.  They  make  their  own  laws,  manage 
their  own  pecuniary  affairs,  requiring  dues  from  their  members,  to  the 
amount  generally  of  from  three  to  ten  dollars  per  year.  The  sick  receive 
a  weekly  allowance,  and  a  stated  sum  is  assigned  for  the  burial  expenses 
of  a  member.  In  due  season  a  member  may  receive  the  first  three  degrees 
of  the  order  by  paying  certain  sums.  On  the  wives  of  the  members  of  the 
highest  degree  can  be  conferred  the  degree  of  Rebekah. 

The  elective  officers  of  a  subordinate  lodge  are  the  noble  grand,  who 
presides,  the  vice-grand,  the  treasurer,  and  the  permanent  and  recording 
secretaries.  A  person  who  has  filled  the  office  of  noble  grand  for  one 
year,  is  styled  past  grand;  and  the  past  grands  form  the  grand  lodge  of 
the  State;  or  it  may  be  formed  of  delegates  chosen  for  that  purpose.  The 
grand  lodge  derives  a  revenue  from  charters  and  a  percentage  on  the  reve- 


348  CHICAGO  AND  ITS   DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

nues  of  subordinate  lodges.  The  grand  lodge  of  the  United  States  is 
composed  of  representatives  elected  biennially  by  the  State  grand  lodges. 

Encampments  were  unknown  until  the  institution  of  Jerusalem  en- 
campment, No.  i,  at  Baltimore,  on  June  I4th,  1827,  with  Thomas  Wildey 
as  presiding  officer.  The  three  degrees  had,  however,  been  regularly 
conferred  on  members  of  the  grand  lodges.  The  titles  of  the  degrees  are 
Patriarchal,  Golden  Rule,  and  Royal  Purple;  and  the  elective  officers  of 
a  subordinate  encampment  are  chief  patriarch,  senior  and  junior  wardens, 
treasurer,  and  scribe.  Only  Scarlet  members  of  subordinate  lodges  in 
good  standing  can  become  members  of  an  encampment. 

From  less  than  half  a  score  of  men  in  the  humble  walks  of  life  the 
order  has  grown  up  to  a  great  army,  and  its  finances  from  zero  to  millions 
per  annum.  In  fifty  years  the  institution  has  gathered  together  as  many 
millions  of  dollars  and  consecrated  it  to  purposes  of  benevolence.  It  has 
followed  and  laid  decently  and  respectably  in  the  grave  more  than  forty 
thousand  men.  It  has  ministered  at  the  bedside  of  more  than  five  hundred 
thousand  sick  brothers.  It  has  visited  and  relieved  more  than  thirty-five 
thousand  widowed  families;  and  though  unable  to  give  the  total  num- 
ber of  orphans  cared  for,  yet  in  Maryland  alone,  where  the  order  is  much 
cherished,  during  this  period  two  thousand  seven  hundred  and  forty-four 
children  have  been  in  charge  of  the  committee  on  education. 

KNIGHTS    OF    PYTHIAS. 

The  Order  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias  is  founded  upon  the  time- 
honored  story  of  Damon  and  Pythias,  and  seeks  to  carry  into  practice  the 
teachings  of  their  wonderful  friendship.  The  story  is  as  follows: 

Damon  and  Pythias,  or  Phintias,  were  two  noble  Pythagoreans  of 
Syracuse,  who  have  been  remembered  as  models  of  faithful  friendship. 
Pythias,  having  been  condemned  to  death  by  Dionysius,  the  tyrant  of 
Syracuse,  begged  to  be  allowed  to  go  home,  for  the  purpose  of  arranging 
his  affairs,  Damon  pledging  his  own  life  for  the  reappearance  of  his  friend. 
Dionysius  consented,  and  Pythias  returned  just  in  time  to  save  Damon 
from  death.  Struck  by  so  noble  an  example  of  mutual  affection,  the 
tyrant  pardoned  Pythias,  and  desired  to  be  admitted  into  their  sacred 
friendship. 

The  order  began  with  the  organization  of  Washington  lodge,  No.  i, 
at  Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  February  I9th,  1864.  The  ritual  was 
prepared  by  J.  H.  Rathbone.  The  order  had  its  origin  in  America,  and 
claims  no  antiquity,  other  than  that  the  principles  binding  its  members 
together  began  with  human  life.  The  object  is  to  unite  men  in  a  closer  bond 
of  fraternity  than  the  everyday  affairs  of  life  seem  to  furnish,  to  relieve  the 
sufferings  of  a  brother,  succor  him  in  distress,  watch  at  his  bedside  in  sick- 
ness, minister  to  his  necessities,  follow  him  to  the  grave,  and  care  for  those 
left  behind.  To  aid  in  accomplishing  these  ends,  the  order  is  beneficial — 
that  is,  weekly  benefits  are  paid  to  those  of  its  members  who  are  sick> 
varying  in  different  localities,  according  to  the  dues  paid.  To  organize  a 
lodge,  nine  or  more  persons  are  necessary.  None  of  the  petitioners  need 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  349 

be  members  of  the  order,  but  must  be  of  sound  bodily  health,  and  believe 
in  a  Supreme  Being. 

This,  like  other  secret  orders,  does  not  interfere  with  man's  relations 
to  the  church,  family  or  state,  but  fully  recognizes  liberty  of  thought  on  all 
social,  political  and  religious  questions.  The  growth  of  the  order  has 
been  rapid,  and  it  now  ranks  among  the  permanent  societies  of  the  world. 
It  will  continue  to  be  cherished* and  sustained  as  long  as  men  are  animated 
by  the  fundamental  principles  of  'Friendship,  Charity  and  Benevolence."' 

Perhaps  the  following  extracts  from  an  address  delivered  some  years 
since  by  the  editor,  before  an  order  which  combines  all  the  features  of  the 
other  secret  organizations,  and  inculcates  the  principles  of  total  abstinence 
besides,  may  convey  more  fully  the  lofty  and  ennobling  mission  of  our  best 
secret  organizations: 

We  have  assembled  again,  and  have  invited  our  friends  to  meet  with 
us  around  the  holy  altar  of  Truth,  of  Virtue,  of  Fraternity  and  of  Honor. 
The  cares,  the  turmoils,  the  enmities  of  life  we  have  left  at  the  portals  to 
this  sacred  place.  Beneath  the  influences  which  surround  us  here  the 
friendship  of  hearts  grows  warmer  and  stronger,  and  hate  and  malice 
are  melted  into  reverence  and  regard.  The  weapons  of  personal  strife  are 
here  sheathed,  and  their  sharp  edges  forever  blunted  by  the  Templar's 
solemn  vow.  The  Templar  who  would  make  this  spot,  consecrated  to 
the  eternal  principles  of  love  and  harmony — this  sacred  avenue  to  peace 
of  heart,  purity  of  soul  and  to  God — the  arena  of  personal  contests,  is 
criminally  unmindful  of  the  solemn  obligations  which  he  has  voluntarily 
taken,  and  which  have  been  recorded  in  Heaven.  That  we  are  not  entirely 
free  from  this  and  other  imperfections  and  annoyances  is  possible,  and 
probably  true.  Earth  is  not  perfect;  humanity  is  depraved.  Evil  hearts 
may  throb  unobserved  amidst  the  fundamental  purity  of  the  Temple  of 
Honor,  and  within  the  shadow  of  our  altar,  modestly  bearing  the  light 
of  the  world,  the  hope  of  immortality  and  the  unerring  sign-board  to  the 
glories  of  a  Temple  not  made  with  hands.  Among  the  beautiful  flowers 
which  adorn  the  banks  of  the  silvery  stream  by  which  we  stroll  in  this 
secluded  life,  the  ungainly  thorn  and  disfiguring  thistle  may,  in  the  mys- 
terious providence  of  God,  germinate,  and  for  awhile  defy  every  attempt 
to  exterminate.  Some  of  the  pillars  of  our  structure  may  be  imperfect 
and  unadorning,  and  their  defects  concealed  by  the  beauty  and  marked 
stability  of  their  associate  supports,  but  they  must  soon  bend  and  crumble 
into  obscurity  beneath  the  crushing  weight  of  principle.  Had  we  the 
powers  of  the  Infinite,  we  might  behold  the  tare  and  the  cockle  among 
the  grain,  even  before  they  had  sprung  above  the  surface  into  life.  But 
the  secret  recesses  of  the  heart  are  penetrated  by  the  Eye  of  the  Eternal 
alone.  We  cannot  read  the  soul's  silent  thought  or  measure  correctly  its 
sincerity  or  its  treachery.  He  who  lays  off  his  outer  garment  and  pre- 
sents himself  as  divested  of  all  deceit,  here  outwardly  consecrating  himself 
to  our  cardinal  principles — Truth,  Love,  Purity  and  Fidelity,  must,  until 
time  reveals  his  unworthiness,  be  honored  with  the  sacred  name  of  brother. 


35° 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 


But  the  grips,  the  signals  and  the  signet  do  not  make  a  Templar.  He 
alone  is  our  brother  whose  heart  holds  this  three- fold  and  universal  princi- 
ple— Love  to  his  God,  his  country  and  his  fellow  man.  To  the  soul  alive 
with  these  sentiments,  and  to  such  only,  we  bid  a  thrice  welcome.  Our 
mission  is  not  confined  to  the  narrow  limits  of  ourselves.  We  are  reminded 
constantly  of  the  unfortunates  of  earth.  The  bright  light  which  from 
our  altar  illumes  our  pathway  reveals  to  us  the  tears  of  the  broken-hearted 
and  the  despair  of  the  perishing.  While  yet  in  darkness  and  in  tempest, 
we  approach  such  with  sympathetic  tenderness,  and  bear  the  glad  message 
of  our  Master,  "  peace,  be  still."  Gently  we  lead  them  from  the  dark 
caverns  of  vice  at  a  time  when  ruin  and  rescue  are  alike  concealed  in  the 
future,  and  reveal  to  them  a  clear  sky  in  which  shines  a  lovely  star  of 
promise.  Beneath  the  warmth  of  that  star  the  energies  of  stupefied  man- 
hood are  quickened  into  vitality,  and  the  exalted  destiny  of  immortal 
man  is  beautifully  pictured  to  the  vision  of  the  reviving  soul,  filled  with 
rapture,  as  it  beholds  the  streams  of  love  and  sympathy  bubbling  from 
human  hearts  and  playing  in  the  starlight  to  nurture  the  drooping  flowers 
of  Hope.  Amidst  this  enchantment,  man,  in  the  infancy  of  his  noble 
thoughts  and  virtuous  aspirations,  cannot  conceive  the  nature  and  grandeur 
of  his  entire  surroundings.  But  let  him  gaze  upon  the  charming  scene 
until  the  sight  achieves  power  by  use,  when  new  stars  of  increased  brill- 
iancy and  magnitude  will  appear  in  the  firmament  to  light  up  the  uncertain 
future,  and  he  will  at  last  perceive  that  the  brightest  and  sweetest  and 
safest  guiding  star  glitters  in  the  Temple  of  Honor.  When  he  beholds 
this,  and  feels  that  joyous,  life-giving  and  glorious  are  its  rays,  and  real- 
izes that  virtue  binds  them  round  her  temples,  and  calls  her  followers  in 
ways  of  pleasantness  and  paths  of  peace,  he  will  seek  our  altar  and  become 
indeed  a  Templar.  Then  may  you  intrust  him  with  your  fortune,  your 
confidence,  all  that  is  most  sacred,  and  he  will  keep  all  inviolate.  Ever 
truthful,  and  faithful  to  his  solemn  vow's,  the  tongue  of  slander  not  only 
never  plays  between  his  lips,  but  he  commands  its  silence  when  in  others 
it  would  tarnish  the  fair  name  of  his  brother.  He  is  open,  honest,  fearless 
and  manly.  Let  him  who  wears  the  Templar's  badge  measure  himself 
by  this  simple  standard,  and  if  he  fall  short,  listen  to  a  voice  within  him 
uttering  the  awful  truth,  "there  is  perjury  upon  thy  soul." 

I  would  like,  stranger,  to  lead  you  to-night  amidst  the  magnificence 
of  the  Templar's  inheritance.  We  would  stroll  through  fields  of  Love, 
with  their  verdant  lawns,  their  sparkling  streamlets  and  delightful  fragrance, 
fanned  ever  by  the  sweetest  zephyrs,  lighted  by  the  soft  radiance  of 
Heaven's  divinest  attribute,  and  echoing  among  their  flowery  hills  the 
perpetual  melody  of  angelic  song.  Love,  with  smiling  eye  and  generous 
sympathy,  would  meet  us  in  every  path,  offering  us  pleasant  gifts  and 
alluring  us  nearer  to  our  fellow-man  and  to  God.  From  the  hill-tops  the 
music  of  birds  would  mingle  with  the  sacred  chorus  of  invisible  choristers, 
and  Love's  harmonious  strains  would  fill  the  valleys  of  the  fields,  and  re- 
sound through  the  arches  of  the  universe.  The  rippling  brooks  and 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  351 

bubbling  springs  which  moisten  the  budding  and  blooming  grandeur  of 
this  enchanted  spot  of  earth  would  bear  upon  their  glistening  surface  the 
joys,  the  smiles,  the  divinity  of  Love.  The  gentle  breezes  would  stir 
the  green  foliage  of  the  forest  into  song,  and  on  the  notes  the  enraptured 
ear  would  catch  the  sentiment,  sublime,  yet  beautiful  in  simplicity,  God- 
like, yet  dwelling  with  men,  the  bond  of  hearts  and  sweetener  of  life, 
the  glory  of  heaven  and  the  joy  of  earth,  is  pure  and  holy  Love.  Amidst 
these  exhaustless  and  eternal  beauties  we  would  fill  the  soul  with  rever- 
ence for  the  Fountain-head;  gather  buds  which  swell  here  and  bloom  in 
Paradise;  water  from  the  crystal  streams,  the  dormant  virtues  of  our 
hearts,  and  more  like  Him,  in  whose  image  we  are,  pass  from  the  splendors 
we  had  beheld,  to  walk  in  the  gardens  of  Purity.  Here  angels  would  bid 
us  welcome,  and  to  contemplate  how  pure  and  beautiful  even  earth  can  be. 
The  fragrant  rose,  in  its  garb  of  beauty,  smiling  in  its  pure  and  tender 
nature;  the  delicate  violet,  in  its  purple  robes,  blooming  in  its  peculiar 
loveliness;  the  sweet  lily  which  flourishes  unbidden  and  uncultured  by  the 
winding  pathway,  would  each  bear  upon  their  tiny  leaves  the  teachings 
of  angels  and  the  will  of  God — "man,  be  pure."  The  green  sod,  the 
garden's  bloom,  the  brightness  of  the  noonday's  burning  sun,  the  air  which 
with  gratitude  we  breathed,  the  music  of  the  mountain  streams  leaping 
in  the  short  distance  from  hill  to  vale,  and  the  roar  of  majestic  ocean, 
borne  to  us  upon  the  breath  of  God  amidst  the  splendor  of  the  scene, 
would  all  bear  the  holy  impress  of  Purity.  Here  would  we  loiter  until 
the  mantle  of  evening  had  shrouded  the  light  of  day,  and  be  further 
taught  and  charmed  by  the  purity  of  the  paradise  of  stars.  Each  twinkling 
orb  would  be  a  chapter  in  the  vast  volume  from  the  author,  God,  from 
some  of  which  we  should  learn  to  cultivate  a  purer  reverence  for  him 
who  gave  us  life,  and  her  who  bore  us,  or,  to  purify  our  hearts,  from  which 
then  purer  tears  would  flow  to  water  their  tombs  and  keep  their  memories 
fresh.  Here  the  brother  would  learn  the  sacredness  of  a  brother  and 
sister's  relation,  and  would  ever  after  guard  the  tender  kindred  bud  with 
and  in  the  sweetest  purity,  and  the  husband  would  be  taught  that  two 
crystal  streams  which  at  the  mountain's  base  unite,  should  not  be  purer 
than  the  marriage  union. 

From  these  walks,  in  which  the  Templar  has  been  taught  lessons 
of  Purity,  you  would  go  forth  an  instrument  to  gladden  the  e^rth,  a  tree  of 
life  and  health  whose  leaves  would  heal  the  nations  of  your  race,  and 
ready  to  brighten  the  dull  grass  and  fading  flowers  and  drooping  souls  of 
earth  with  sweet  refreshing  drops  of  purity. 

With  the  remembrance  of  such  lessons  I  should  scarcely  need  remind 
you  of  the  heart's  duty  of  Fidelity,  by  pointing  you  to  the  pictures  of 
that  attribute  which  are  ever  suspended  upon  the  walls  of  our  Temple  for 
study  and  admiration.  Here  hangs  the  significant  picture  of  fidelity  to 
self,  which  careful  study  reveals,  signifies  fidelity  to  God,  to  country  and 
the  human  race.  There  is  the  picture  of  fidelity  to  Truth — the  smoke,  the 
flames,  the  agonies  of  the  dying  martyr,  and  beneath  it  is  written,  "what 


352  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

evidence  have  you  ever  given  of  the  heart's  fidelity  to  principle?"  Yonder 
is  the  picture  of  proud  America's  Washington,  spurning  the  proffered 
bribes  of  the  enemies  of  liberty,  and  in  the  grandeur  of  his  noble  man- 
hood clearing  a  path  to  national  freedom  and  his  own  immortal  fame. 
Read  upon  that  picture  and  contemplate  its  significance,  Sons  of  America, 
what  if  he  had  been  unfaithful?  Now  behold  a  simple  picture,  but  the 
loveliest  that  graces  our  halls,  or  commands  the  admiration  and  reverence 
of  the  world — a  rude  cross,  the  life  blood  trickling  from  its  precious  bur- 
den, whose  fidelity  prompts  the  expression:  "Father,  thy  will  be  done." 
Fallen  man,  darest  thou  think  of  treachery,  were  it  possible,  there?  And 
now,  before  passing  on,  observe  this  picture  of  violated  Fidelity.  A  man 
rises  to  the  proud  position  of  a  conqueror;  the  gentle  spirit  of  his  fond 
wife  his  guiding  star  and  guardian  angel;  but  in  a  moment  of  mad  ambi- 
tion he  casts  from  him  the  faithful  companion  of  his  humbler  days,  tears 
asunder  the  tender  cords  that  have  bound  their  souls  together,  and  in  her 
presence  leads  to  the  altar  the  heartlessness  of  proud  royalty.  From  that 
hour  the  pathway  of  Napoleon  was  downward,  and  upon  his  soul  fell  the 
vengeance  of  a  just  God,  so  terrible  in  its  effects,  that  to  remember  his 
fate  is  to  see  God's  own  warning  to  the  unfaithful.  Briefly,  you  would  be 
taught  in  these  observations  the  purest  fidelity  to  self,  to  country,  to  human- 
ity and  to  God. 

The  closing  of  our  doors  upon  the  world  must  not  be  considered  an 
evidence  of  selfishness.  The  life  and  grandeur  of  our  noble  Order  is  the 
truth  it  teaches — "none  liveth  to  himself  alone."  We  better  ourselves  to 
enable  us  to  better  others.  We  work  the  magnificent  machinery  of  our 
Order  to  benefit,  to  some  degree,  even  the  millions  whose  hearts  are  too 
vile  ever  to  throb  within  our  Inner  Temple.  It  is  our  proud  satisfaction 
to  know  that  many  an  aching  heart  has  been  soothed  through  our  instru- 
mentality, without  ever  knowing  whence  came  the  healing  balm.  None 
can  drink  of  our  crystal  waters  without  reading  upon  the  Gilded  Fountain 
that  sends  them  forth,  his  duty  to  bear  the  Torch  of  Love  into  the  dark 
by-ways,  to  lead  the  fallen  from  vice  to  virtue's  ways.  To  seek  out  and 
soothe  the  pains  of  hearts  misfortune  hath  bowed  down,  is  gilded  above 
every  archway  and  on  every  wall  of  our  majestic  Temple.  Like  the  silent 
ray  of  light,  the  Templar  is  bidden  to  be  ready  to  penetrate  the  darkest 
recess  whenever  the  slightest  opportunity  shall  offer.  Upon  every  step 
of  the  spiral  stairway  ascending  through  increasing  splendors  to  our  Tem- 
ple's dome  is  written:  "Thou  art  commissioned  by  Heaven  to  gather  from 
the  lowly  walks  of  life  brilliants  for  its  diadem."  And  no  soul  can  breathe 
the  air  of  this  enchanted  sphere,  laden  with  the  sweet  perfume  of  heavenly 
graces,  nor  look  within  the  spacious  halls  and  on  the  winding  corridors  of 
our  hallowed  structure,  where  the  loveliest  of  immortality  sings  the  glad 
song  of  its  redemption,  without  exclaiming:  "God  bless  this  consolidated 
mind,  pledged  to  the  triumph  of  temperance  and  virtue!" 

To  view  the  vast  caravan  of  immortal  souls,  recruited  from  the  haunts 
of  vice  and  darkness  of  despair,  now  rejoicing  in  the  promises  of  their 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS,  353 

God,  as  through  the  falling  showers  of  Divine  mercy  they  behold  the 
beauteous  colors  of  the  rainbow  traced  upon  the  heavens,  and  starting 
from  the  very  base  of  our  altar  heavenward,  is  reward  enough  for  con- 
secrating ourselves  to  the  cause  of  humanity  and  God.  But  this  is  not 
the  Templar's  only  compensation.  Angels  strew  his  own  pathway  with 
fadeless  flowers,  and  the  music  of  the  heavenly  spheres  bursts  on  his  ear 
and  charms  the  soul  into  sweet  forgetfulness  of  its  own  pains.  He  looks 
beyond  this  vale  of  tears,  through  the  storms,  the  turmoils  and  miseries 
of  life  into  the  brightness  of  eternal  day,  and  there  beholds  the  reward  of 
the  faithful. 

The  Temple  of  Honor  is  the  faithful  ally  of  the  Christian  church. 
To  fit  man  for  heaven  is  the  grand  object  of  all  our  secret  and  magnificent 
work.  We  charm  him  to  the  vestibule  of  our  sanctuary  of  Temperance 
where  we  meet  him  with  the  open  Bible  and  bid  him  build  his  future  hopes 
upon  the  promises  it  contains.  Thence  we  lead  him  along  the  flowery 
paths  of  knowledge,  where  he  meets  with  the  injunction,  "  man,  know 
thyself,"  and  by  the  light  of  such  rare  knowledge  purge  the  soul  of  all 
impurities.  Now  we  halt  him  at  the  crystal  spring,  in  which  he  reads 
that  the  Fountain  Head  of  nature's  sparkling  drink  is  at  the  Throne  of 
God,  and  here  we  ask  his  promise  of  devotion  henceforth  and  forever  to 
the  holy  cause  of  Temperance.  Next  we  pluck  the  swelling,  tender  bud 
of  fraternal  friendship,  moistened  by  the  dews  of  heavenly  influence,  and 
as  he  holds  this  delicate  product  of  our  garden  in  his  hand,  we  teach  him 
that  the  warmth  of  his  own  heart  must  burst  it  into  bloom,  or  it  must 
wither  and  die;  warning  him  of  the  danger  of  shipwreck  upon  the  ocean 
of  life,  unless  his  course  be  lighted  by  the  sympathy  of  friendly  hearts, 
we  lead  him  to  our  altar.  Here  we  draw  aside  the  curtain  which  veils 
our  mysteries  from  the  outer  world,  and  the  Sun  of  Truth  pours  its  pene- 
trating beams  into  his  soul  to  burn  away  the  dross  of  unbelief,  to  reveal 
to  him  that  God  is  Truth,  and  teach  him  to  be  truthful.  Another  step, 
and  Love's  sweet  effulgence  mingles  with  the  light  of  truth,  and  playing 
upon  his  heart  and  on  his  pathway,  he  reads  in  the  charming  brilliancy: 
"  Love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself."  Now  we  conduct  him  into  the  sunshine 
of  Purity,  that  he  may  look  upon  the  verdure  of  the  fields — the  loveliness 
of  the  blooming  flowers,  and  listen  to  the  warblings  of  the  innocent 
birds,  that  in  contemplating  the  innocence  and  purity  of  nature  he  may 
be  reminded  that  "the  pure  in  heart  see  God;"  and  to  complete  the  circuit 
of  our  altar  we  uncover  before  him  the  beauties  of  Fidelity,  picturing  to 
him  the  peace  and  quiet  of  the  faithful  heart  and  the  remorse  of  the  false; 
then  opening  the  word  of  Eternal  Life  we  bid  him  read,  "  the  faithful 
shall  drink  of  the  waters  of  life."  These  are  some  of  the  beauties  which 
man  beholds  as  he  journeys  through  our  Temple.  But  all  that  he  beholds 
is  not  beautiful.  We  should  be  unfaithful,  did  we  not  lead  him  from  the 
sunshine  into  valleys  of  darkness  that  he  might  learn  to  pity  the  unfortu- 
nate; in  paths  of  humility  that  he  might  learn  his  own  insignificance; 
through  waters  of  affliction  and  furnaces  of  fire  to  teach  him  fortitude 


354  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

and  faith,  and  lastly  to  the  grave,  the  place  appointed  for  all  the 
living. 

All  that  we  have  shown  him — the  buds  and  the  flowers,  the  waters 
and  landscapes,  the  mountains  and  valleys,  the  sunshine  and  darkness,  the 
rude  and  the  lovely,  have  been  intended  to  prepare  him  to  look  calmly 
into  the  cold  and  silent  tomb.  And  here  we  stand  with  him  amidst  the 
solemn  silence  of  death,  midway  between  this  and  the  life  to  come, 
the  past  realized,  the  future  a  mystery,  the  winds  moaning  a  solemn 
requiem  about  us  and  the  mournful  cadence  at  last  dying  away  into  awful 
silence,  the  green  grass  at  our  feet  bowing  as  if  with  reverence,  the  sun 
of  heaven  hiding  its  bright  face  behind  the  passing  clouds,  and  amidst  the 
solemnity  of  the  scene  we  unbury  the  grinning  skeleton  that  sleeps  be- 
neath, to  which  we  point  and  whisper: 

"  Life  is  real — life  is  earnest, 

And  the  grave  is  not  its  goal, 
'Dust  thou  art — to  dust  returnest' 

Was  not  spoken  of  the  soul." 

And  while  the  tears  trickle  down  the  cheek  of  our  companion  in  evidence 
that  our  efforts  have  not  been  entirely  in  vain,  we  grasp  his  hand  and 
bid  him: 

"So  live,  that  when  your  summons  comes 

To  join  the  innumerable  caravan  which  moves, 

To  that  mysterious  realm 

Where  each  shall  take  his  chamber  in  the  silent  halls  of  death 

Thou  go  not  like  the  quarry  slave  at  night 

Scourged  to  his  dungeon.     But  with  unfaltering  step 

Approach  thy  grave,  like  one  who  draws  the 

Drapery  of  his  couch  about  him,  and  lies  down 

To  pleasant  dreams." 

If  this  is  a  correct  description  of  the  teachings  of  secret  societies — 
and  it  is — we  think  that  they  must  be  accorded  the  merit  of  being  a  pro- 
moter of  human  happiness  and  usefulness.  While  the  particular  order 
referred  to  in  the  above  extracts,  is  a  total  abstinence  organization,  all 
secret  societies  teach  temperance  and  require  its  practice.  But  in  addition 
to  such  teachings,  the  practical  charity  of  Masonry,  Odd  Fellowship, 
Knights  of  Pythias,  and  other  orders,  which  imitate  them,  is  something 
which  must  commend  them.  The  amount  of  money  annually  expended 
by  these  orders  in  the  city  of  Chicago,  in  relieving  distressed  brothers, 
burying  the  dead,  assisting  the  widow  and  educating  the  orphan,  is  simply 
princely.  Every  society  of  the  character  of  Masonry  and  Odd  Fellow- 
ship must  necessarily  lessen  the  burdens  of  the  tax  payer.  But  this  is  not 
all.  The  sympathy  and  assistance  which  is  manifested  in  the  sick  room 
is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  exhibitions  of  the  better  side  of  human  char- 
acter that  the  world  ever  sees;  and  upon  the  whole,  we  think  that  if  those 
who  honestly  think  that  these  orders  are  useless  organizations,  would  be- 
come more  thoroughly  acquainted  with  their  characteristics,  they  would 
be  led  to  modify  their  opinions. 

Masonry  and  Odd  Fellowship  were  the  pioneer  secret  orders  in  Chi- 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  3^ 

cago,  and  their  history  dates  back  to  very  nearly  the  beginning  of  Chicago. 
At  present  Masonry  is  represented  in  the  city  by  the  following  lodges: 

Oriental,  No.  33;  Garden  City,  No.  141;  Wabansia,  No.  160;  Ger- 
mania,  No.  182;  Wm.  B.  Warren,  No.  209;  Cleveland,  No.  211;  Blaney, 
No.  271;  Accordia,  No.  277;  Ashlar,  No.  308;  Dearborn,  No.  310;  Kil- 
winning,  No.  311;  Blair,  No.  393;  Thomas  J.  Turner,  No.  409;  Mithra, 
No.  410;  Hesperia,  No.  411;  Landmark,  No.  422;  Chicago,  No.  437; 
Pleiades,  No.  478;  Home,  No.  508;  Covenant  Lodge,  No.  526;  Lessing, 
No.  557;  National,  No.  596;  Union  Park,  No.  610;  Lincoln  Park,  No. 
611;  Keystone,  No.  639;  Apollo,  No.  642 ;  D.  C.  Cregier,  No.  643;  South 
Park,  No.  662;  Herder,  No.  669;  Waldech,  No.  674;  D.  A.  Cashman, 
No.  686;  Englewood,  No.  690;  Richard  Cole,  No.  697;  St.  Andrews, 
No.  703;  Lumberman's,  No.  717;  Golden  Rule,  No.  726;  Harbor,  No. 
731;  Lakeside,  No.  769. 

Royal  Arch  Mariners — U.  S.  Premier  Lodge;  Triton,  No.  3;  Rosi- 
crucian  Society  of  the  United  States  of  America  (under  England  and 
Scotland,  open  to  Master  Masons,  Literary  and  Philosophical — Member- 
ship strictly  limited  to  144;  16  only  in  the  IX°,  32  in  the  VIII0,  etc.,  etc.) 
Organized  January  28th,  1878,  Chicago. 

Royal  Arch  Chapters — LaFayette,  No.  2;  Washington,  No.  43;  Cor- 
inthian, No.  69;  Wiley  M.  Egan,  No.  126;  Lincoln  Park,  No.  117;  Chicago, 
No.  127;  York,  No.  148;  Pairview,  No.  161;  Elwood  M.  Jarrett,  No.  176. 

Knights  Templar — Apollo,  No.  i;  Chicago,  No.  19;  St.  Bernard, 
No.  35. 

Grand  Imperial  Council  of  Knights  of  the  Red  Cross  of  Rome  and 
Constantine  and  Knights  of  the  Holy  Sepulcher — St.  John's  Conclave, 
No.  i;  Lincoln  Park  Conclave,  No.  123;  Chicago  Conclave,  No.  Si. 

Ancient  and  Accepted  Scottish  Rite — Oriental  Sovereign  Consistory 
S.  P.  R.  S.  32  ° ;  Gourgas  Sovereign  Chapter  of  Rose  Croix  D.  H.  R.  D.  M. 
18°;  Van  Rensselaer  Grand  Lodge  of  Perfection,  14°;  Chicago  Council 
Princes  of  Jerusalem,  16°;  Ancient  Arabic  Order  Nobles  of  the  Mystic 
Shrine. 

Adoptive  Masonry — Miriam  Chapter,  No.  I ;  Lady  Washington 
Chapter,  No.  28;  Butler  Chapter,  No.  36;  Queen  Esther  Chapter,  No.  41. 

The  following  encampments  and  lodges  of  the  Odd  Fellows  are  now 
in  the  city: 

Encampments  —  Humboldt,  Germania,  Teutonia,  Illinois,  Apollo, 
Chosen  Friends',  Excelsior  (Uniformed),  Chicago,  Herman,  Alexander. 

Lodges — Duane,  Chicago,  Rainbow,  'Ellips,  Home,  Ellis,  South  Park, 
New  Chicago,  Peabody,  Rochambeau,  Excelsior,  Fort  Dearborn,  Lincoln 
Park,  Olympia,  Southwestern,  Northern  Light,  John  G.  Potts,  Persever- 
ence,  Robert  Blum,  Harmonia,  Hofnung,  Garden  City,  Hutton,  Templar, 
First  Swedish,  Silver  Link,  Eintract,  Humboldt  Park,  Washington,  Union, 
Goethe,  Lily  of  the  West,  Douglas,  Palm,  Progress,  Accordia,  Palacky, 
North  Chicago,  Northwestern,  Syria,  Brighton  Park. 


356 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 


THE    UNION    STOCK    YARDS. 

Of  all  the  many  industries  which  have  made  Chicago  famous  and 
wealthy,  the  live  stock  business  at  the  Union  Stock  Yards  is  among  the 
most  prominent.  Controlled  by  some  of  the  keenest  business  men  in 
the  world,  and  some  .of  the  most  honorable  withal,  it  is  not  surprising 
that  the  commission  trade  at  this  point  should  not  only  have  developed  in 
accordance  with  the  natural  advantages  furnished  by  Chicago  itself,  but 
that  it  should  have  grown  even  beyond  the  expectation  which  such  advan- 
tages would  naturally  arouse.  So  immense  and  varied,  indeed,  are  the 
operations  here  that  a  neglect  to  visit  the  yards  is  to  miss  a  day's  entertain- 
ment of  a  peculiar  but  highly  interesting  character.  The  Union  Stock 
Yards  are  a  city  of  themselves,  and  one  of  the  peculiarities  of  the  men 
who  transact  business  in  them  is  that  they  are  full  of  that  vitality  which 
is,  or  is  closely  akin  to,  what  the  world  calls  magnetism.  They  are  all 
life  and  vigor,  and  there  is  something  irresistible  in  the  influence  of  their 
voices  and  manners. 

These  Stock  Yards  were  established  in  1866,  the  company  being 
organized  under  a  special  charter  granted  by  the  legislature  of  Illinois, 
which  charter  conferred  upon  the  company  all  necessary  powers  and 
privileges  to  construct,  operate  and  maintain  stock  yards,  to  build  and  operate 
railroads,  and  to  exercise  the  right  of  eminent  domain  in  furtherance  of  the 
enterprise,  with  the  following  restrictions,  however:  "That  all  fees  and 
charges  for  freights,  hotel  bills,  feeding,  carrying,  and  everything  done  by 
reason  of  the  powers  conferred  by  the  charter,  should  be  subject  to  any 
general  law  that  might  be  passed  by  the  legislature  of  the  State  in  refer- 
ence to  stock  yards  and  railroads."  One  million  of  dollars  was  the  amount 
of  capital  stock  authorized  by  the  charter.  This  has  since  been  increased 
to  four  millions,  and  as  an  indication  of  the  profitableness  of  the  business, 
it  may  be  well  to  note  that  the  stock  sells  at  a  premium  of  from  fifty  to 
one  hundred  per  cent.  The  cost  of  the  establishment  of  the  yards  was 
about  one  million,  six  hundred 'thousand  dollars,  which  was  raised  as 
follows:  one  million  was  paid  in  on  capital  stock;  four  hundred  thousand 
was  borrowed  on  note  and  mortgage;  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  was 
paid  out  of  earnings,  and  one  hundred  thousand  of  a  stock  dividend  in 
lieu  of  a  cash  dividend. 

During  the  first  year  of  the  organization  of  the  company,  there  were 
received  at  their  yards  three  hundred  and  ninety  thousand  and  seven  head 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS,  357 

of  cattle,  nine  hundred  and  sixty-one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  forty-six 
head  of  hogs  and  two  hundred  and  seven  thousand  nine  hundred  and 
eighty-seven  sheep.  At  the  beginning  of  operations  the  prices  established 
were  as  follows:  One  dollar  per  bushel  for  corn,  thirty  dollars  per  ton  for 
hay,  twenty-five  cents  per  head  yardage  for  cattle,  and  eight  cents  per 
head  for  hogs  and  sheep.  These  charges  seem  somewhat  exorbitant,  but 
at  that  time  the  company  was  compelled  to  pay  from  sixty  to  ninety  cents 
per  bushel  for  corn,  and  sometimes  as  high  as  twenty-five  dollars  a  ton 
for  hay;  and  then  again  the  cost  of  the  yards  was  very  heavy,  much 
larger  than  was  anticipated  when  the  enterprise  was  first  conceived.  The 
first  report  of  the  Board  of  Directors  to  their  stockholders  contains 
the  following:  l-1  It  is  believed  that  the  earnings  will  increase  rapidly  with 
time,  and  that  although  the  cost  of  the  company's  property  has  been  much 
greater  than  was  originally  estimated  it  would  be,  still  its  earnings  for  the 
first  year  of  its  business  (which  it  will  be  seen  are  about  sixteen  per  cent, 
above  interest  and  the  expense  of  management)  have  not  been  unsatis- 
factory." The  most  of  people  would  regard  such  a  profit  as  exceedingly 
satisfactory.  The  charges  originally  established,  however,  have  never 
been  changed  to  any  great  extent  in  the  history  of  these  yards,  a  fact 
which  has  produced  two  results — considerable  dissatisfaction  among  stock- 
men and  enormous  profits  to  the  company. 

In  1867  the  receipts  of  live  stock  increased  nearly  fifty  per  cent., 
being  two  million,  two  hundred  and  seven  thousand,  six  hundred  and 
sixty-six  head.  The  president  of  the  company  in  his  report  for  this  year 
said:  "The  financial  statement  exhibits  a  safe  and  profitable  investment. 
The  net  earnings  have  been  sufficient  to  keep  the  property  in  good  repair, 
and  make  such  improvements  as  time  will  require,  to  lay  aside  a  sinking 
fund  to  pay  off  the  bonded  debt,  or  to  meet  the  depreciation  of  buildings, 
and  at  the  same  time  to  declare  semi-annual  dividends."  The  business  of 
the  yards  in  1868  was  not  much  greater  than  that  of  the  previous  year, 
only  about  a  hundred  thousand  more  head  of  stock  being  received  in  1868 
than  there  was  in  1867,  and  the  increase  of  business  in  1869  over  1868  was 
about  in  the  same  proportion.  Indeed,  from  1867  to  1870,  both  inclusive, 
there  was  this  annual  gain  of  about  one  hundred  thousand  head.  In  1871, 
however,  the  receipts  reached  three  million,  two  hundred  and  thirty-eight 
thousand,  one  hundred  and  sixteen  head;  in  1872,  four  million,  two  hun- 
dred and  forty-six  thousand,  nine  hundred  and  nine  head;  in  1873,  five 
million,  three  hundred  and  ninety  thousand,  nine  hundred  and  twelve 
hcv.d;  in  1874,  five  million,  four  hundred  and  thirty-six  thousand;  in  1875, 
five  million,  two  hundred  and  fifty-one  thousand,  eight  hundred  and 
seventy-one;  in  1876,  five  million,  six  hundred  and  fifty  thousand,  eight 
hundred  and  fifty-six;  and  in  the  subsequent  years  there  has  been  a  large 
annual  increase  of  business. 

The  company  now  owns  three  hundred  and  seventy  acres 
of  valuable  land  with  its  valuable  buildings;  and  it  is  indebted  for  its 
fortune  to  the  commission  men,  to  whom  we  have  already  referred. 


3^8  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

A  writer  in  the  DROVERS'  JOURNAL  makes  this  fact  still  plainer. 
He  says: 

"It  has  been  through  the  agency  of  the  commission  men  that  the  class 
of  live  stock  men  known  as  drovers  have  been  brought  into  existence  in 
connection  with  the  live  stock  trade  here.  These  men  reside  in  the  coun- 
try and  are  scattered  all  over  the  region  of  country  that  is  tributary  to 
Chicago.  Each  drover  has  a  particular  district  within  which  he  operates 
in  a  common  way  in  making  purchases  of  cattle,  hogs  or  sheep,  as  the 
case  may  be.  Such  purchases  when  made  for  the  Chicago  market  are 
commonly  covered  by  the  acceptance  of  draft  or  by  a  letter  of  credit  on 
the  part  of  some  live  stock  commission  salesman  or  firm  in  Chicago,  which 
enables  the  drover  to  move  his  stock  readily  from  the  place  of  purchase 
to  market. 

In  addition  to  this  kind  of  service  rendered  by  the  commission  men 
there  have  been  plenty  of  instances  where  feeders  in  the  country  have 
obtained  loans  of  a  few  thousand  dollars  for  one,  two  or  three  months  on 
good  sized  lots  of  cattle  that  they  might  be  feeding  in  the  country;  and 
we  have  known  cases  where  men  owning  large  farms  in  the  country  have 
made  arrangements  with  strong  commission  firms  here  to  buy  stock  cattle 
for  them  in  the  early  part  of  the  year,  to  be  kept  on  grass  during  the  entire 
grazing  season,  when  such  cattle  would  be  brought  back  to  market,  to  be 
sold  by  the  same  commission  firm — this  firm  having  advanced  the  money 
to  pay  for  such  cattle  in  the  first  place,  the  former  paying  interest  for  the 
use  of  the  money  during  the  time  it  had  been  in  use  in  carrying  the  cattle 
through  the  grazing  season,  and  the  commission  firm  getting  two  com- 
missions besides  interest  on  the  money  furnished.  The  acceptances  of 
commission  men  here  upon  shipments  of  stock  from  the  country  to  this 
market  have  always  been  a  main  factor  in  helping  to  bring  forward  the 
hogs  that  have  come  here  during  every  regular  packing  season  since  the  live 
stock  commission  business  has  been  established  here.  The  commission 
men  have  at  times  been  subjected  to  a  good  deal  of  trouble,  loss  and 
inconvenience  through  this  arrangement  for  making  advances  on  ship- 
ments of  stock  to  come  from  the  country.  Sometimes  the  proceeds 
of  sale  would  fail  to  reach  the  acceptance  given  on  account  of  such  shipment; 
the  difference  would  often  have  to  be  charged  to  the  shipper  and  would 
have  to  stand  so  until  he  would  have  good  luck  through  a  future  shipment. 
We  have  known  instances  where  commission  men  have  run  up  accounts 
of  several  thousand  dollars  against  a  shipper  or  drover  in  trying  to  sustain 
him  and  have  him  come  out  sound  while  operating  on  this  kind  of  princi- 
ple. The  commission  men,  under  a  well  established  rule,  have  uniformly 
paid  the  proceeds  of  all  sales  of  stock  to  the  owners  as  soon  as  the  bills 
could  be  made  out  after  the  sale,  although  they  might  not  be  able  to  collect 
from  the  purchaser  for  one,  two  or  three  days,  and  thousands  of  dollars 
have  been  lost  at  one  time  or  another  by  allowing  buyers  to  take  possession 
of  stock  bought  before  it  was  paid  for.  We  have'  here  referred  to  all 
these  matters  for  the  purpose  of  showing  the  whole  character  of  the  agency 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  359 

the  live  stock  commission  men  have  had  in  building  up  the  live  stock  trade 
of  Chicago." 

But  this  brief  record  of  this  great  corporation's  prosperity,  wealth 
and  power,  and  of  the  enterprise  of  the  men  whose  thought  has  illumined 
the  way  of  progress,  suggests  the  real  source  of  this  city's  magnificence 
and  influence — the  fields  and  the  husbandmen  upon  whom  she  lays  tribute. 
Our  city  and  our  nation  have  grown  mightily.  A  little  more  than  a  hun- 
dred years  have  left  their  impress  upon  our  Republic.  A  garden  has 
been  made  to  bloom  in  the  midst  of  the  wilderness,  cities  have  arisen  upon 
the  uninviting  marshes,  and  the  hum  of  industry  has  silenced  the  war- 
whoop  of  the  savage  upon  the  broad  prairies.  The  music  of  the  spindle 
mingles  with  the  song  of  waters  which  a  century  ago  trickled  from  the 
hidden  mountain-spring,  and  murmured  through  forests  which  civilized 
man  has  never  invaded.  The  glare  of  the  smeiting-furnace,  sifting  treasure 
from  the  native  rock  and  coining  wealth  from  the  sands  of  the  seashore, 
streams  out  into  the  darkness  of  the  night,  and  illumes  the  picture  of  our 
national  progress,  until  we  pause  in  bewilderment  and  are  half  incredulous 
as  to  the  reality  of  our  remarkable  achievements.  Penetrating  our  Hoosacs, 
spanning  our  Mississippis,  scaling  our  Sierra  Nevadas,  woven  in  intricate 
net- work  over  our  prairies,  and  uniting  Maine  to  Mexico,  and  California 
to  New  England,  our  eighty  thousand  miles  of  railroad  speak  loudly  of 
our  enterprise  and  advancement.  The  locomotive  breathes  its  hot,  heavy 
breath  upon  the  piston  rod,  and  moves  like  a  thing  of  life  over  the  conti- 
nent, screaming  iorth  the  claims  of  civilization  amidst  the  silence  of  the 
wild  woodlands  and  the  sand-storms  of  the  trackless  plains;  the  white 
wings  of  our  shipping  shade  our  capacious  harbors,  and  beat  the  breezes 
of  every  sea  and  reflect  the  sunlight  in  every  port.  A  world  discerns 
them  as  far  as  the  eye  can  penetrate  the  azure  of  the  ocean,  and  applauds 
the  grace  with  which  they  bear  to  foreign  lands  our  cotton,  flour,  meat, 
butter,  hides,  grain,  gold,  potash,  tobacco,  rice,  and  petroleum;  girdling 
the  continent,  and  almost  reaching  into  every  hamlet  our  seventy  tnousand 
miles  of  telegraph  flashes  living  thought,  and  simultaneously  lights  up 
the  whole  nation  with  a  blaze  of  intelligence.  America  places  her  lips  to 
the  rocks  of  the  seashore  and  whispers  her  wishes  in  flaming  syllables 
to  all  Europe,  and  is  answered  by  the  first  wave  that  dashes  on  the  beach. 
Our  budding  men  and  women,  exceeding  in  numbers  eleven  millions,  are 
being  nurtured  into  strength,  and  beauty,  and  bloom,  in  the  shadow  of  the 
school-house,  and  by  the  developing  power  of  our  excellent  educational 
system,  the  pride  of  the  nation,  and  iii  no  State  more  perfect  than  in 
Illinois.  Charity  erects  her  mansions  and  invites  poverty  from  the  deserts 
to  loiter  among  the  flowers;  she  builds  hospitals  for  the  sick  and  surrounds 
them  with  all  the  charms  which  can  glow  from  sympathy  and  pitying 
tenderness,  and  to  the  weak  and  tempted  she  opens  delightful  retreats 
where  the  tempter  sings  not,  and  where  danger  is  swallowed  up  in  victory. 
THUS,  this  people  have  carved  greatness  out  of  the  rude  rock  and  the 
wilderness,  turned  adversity  into  p.o^penty,  adorned  their  nation  with 


360  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

the  loveliest  of  virtues,  challenged  the  admiration  of  the  world,  and 
developed  from  a  handful  of  fugitives  into  a  population  of  forty-three 
millions.  And  whence  comes  this  glory  and  power  and  perfection?  What 
magic  wand  has  touched  the  earth  and  brought  forth  our  New  Yorks 
and  Philadelphias,  and  Baltimores  and  Bostons  in  the  East,  and  our  Chi- 
cagos  and  St.  Louis,  and  Cincinnatis,  and  San  Franciscos  in  the  West? 
What  has  dammed  our  streams  and  turned  their  currents  upon  the  wheels 
of  our  factories,  and  made  our  Lowells  and  Lawrences  and  Fall  Rivers, 
and  Janesvilles?  What  was  the  torch  which  lighted  the  fires  in  our 
furnaces  and  rolling-mills,  and  what  is  it  that  has  kept  them  burning  from 
the  day's  dawning  till  another  dawn,  and  from  the  birth  of  January  to 
the  death  of  December?  What  has  sent  the  locomotive  snorting  from  the 
Atlantic  across  the  plains  to  the  Pacific,  and  threading  its  way  from  city 
to  city,  and  even  rolling  into  the  modest  hamlets  of  the  most  unpromising 
sections?  Why  hover  the  ships  in  our  harbors,  like  bees  about  the  flower, 
or  confiding  birds  about  the  hand  that  feeds  them?  What  has  made  the 
nation  what  it  is — the  patron  of  commerce,  the  promoter  of  education, 
the  land  of  industry  and  enterprise,  the  gorgeous  home  of  forty-three 
millions  of  freemen?  The  three  millions  of  American  farms  have  made 
America.  The  harvests  from  our  five  hundred  millions  of  cultivated  acres 
have  built  our  store-houses  and  railroads  and  school-houses,  and  fed  our 
commerce  and  peopled  our  cities.  The  sound  of  the  reapers  and  thresh- 
ing-machines is  the  music  which  allures  the  emigrant  to  our  shores  and 
soothes  him  into  contentment.  Agriculture  is  the  world's  greatest  neces- 
sity, and  its  richest  blessing.  The  city,  with  its  royal  architecture,  its 
monuments,  its  industry  and  its  culture,  is  an  object  of  p'ardonable  pride 
to  itself,  and  of  admiration  to  the  country,  but  it  borrows  its  flush  of  ruddy 
health  from  the  roses,  and  its  dignity  and  importance  from  the  fields. 
When  the  husbandman  folds  his  arms  and  the  soil  sleeps,  the  proudest 
city  starves,  the  bustle  of  her  industry  is  hushed  in  the  silence  of  despair, 
the  shipping  deserts  her  wharves,  and,  though  a  less  curiosity  than  Pompeii, 
she  is  scarcely  less  desolate.  Enterprise  sits  in  the  shadow  of  the  groan- 
ing granary  and  laughs  at  the  flames  which  melt  down  a  -Boston  or  a 
Chicago,  and  before  the  last  ember  has  ceased  to  burn',  sets  a  new  and 
more  beautiful  city  upon  the  smoking  ruins.  But  a  field,  devastated  by 
grasshoppers,  strikes  terror  to  the  very  heart  of  the  nation,  and  almost 
paralyzes  its  energies.  We  sit  down  in  the  studios  of  our  artists  amidst 
the  eloquent  marble  and  the  reflections  of  beautiful  nature  upon  the  canvas, 
and  worship  the  genius  which  aspires  to  excel  in  the  New  World  the 
artistic  achievements  of  ancient  Greece  and  Rome,  but,  if  reflective,  never 
forget  that  but  for  the  plow  and  the  cultivator,  these  halls  of  art  would  be 
as  cheerless  and  uninviting  as  the  chambers  of  the  Roman  catacombs. 

In  these  times,  when  shadows  rather  than  substance  are  often  sought, 
when  the  gilded  useless  ball  on  the  spire  attracts  attention  from  the  sub- 
stantial foundation  of  the  structure,  when  our  young  men  and  women  are 
charmed  by  the  glitter  of  city  life  and  the  ease  of  the  lighter  employments, 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS   DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  361 

it  is  the  duty  of  those  who  write  or  edit,  to  lose  no  favorable  opportunity 
to  portray  the  dignity,  usefulness  and  influence  of  agriculture.  The  rou°"h 
hands  fresh  from  the  handles  of  the  plow,  the  bronzed  brow  upon  which 
the  Summer  suns  have  crayoned  the  badge  of  habitual  exposure,  the  stiff 
walk,  and,  perhaps,  bent  form  of  the  farmer,  may  constitute  an  unsightly 
picture  to  those  who  have  so  far  lost  sight  of  the  legitimate  objects  of  life, 
as  to  suppose  that  the  possession  of  soft  hands,  fair  brows  and  fashionable 
clothing  is  among  the  most  prominent.  But  such  feelings,  and  ridicule  or 
censure  from  such  a  source,  can  never  shadow  the  bright  fame  of  agricul- 
tural pursuits  or  lessen  the  realization  among  thinking  men  that  it  is  as 
honorable  to  tread  the  furrow  as  the  streets  of  the  most  magnificent  city, 
and  that  he  who  holds  the  implement  of  productive  industry,  and  whose 
thought  directs  it  in  the  cultivation  of  the  earth,  is  among,  and  prominent 
among,  the  world's  noblemen. 

The  danger  most  to  be  apprehended  in  all  communities  which  are 
making  such  rapid  strides  in  the  achievement  of  influence  and  the  accumula- 
tion of  wealth  as  this  nation  is  making,  is  the  tendency  to  degrade  labor 
and  to  worship  the  unsubstantial.  Republics  which  have  preceded  ours 
have  foundered  upon  this  very  rock,  and  have  gone  to  pieces  while  the 
men  at  the  wheel  and  on  the  decks  were  robed  in  fine  purple,  and  the  pas- 
sengers were  reveling  amidst  golden  luxuries.  It  is  easy  to  fiddle  while 
Rome  burns,  but  it  is  criminal.  It  only  requires  a  spirit  of  absolute 
enmity  to  self  interests,  to  say  nothing  of  the  claims  of  posterity  upon  us, 
to  carouse  like  a  drunken  Alexander  in  the  midst  of  pressing  duties,  or  to 
rust  out  our  lives  in  the  glare  of  magnificence  and  in  idle  revelry  like  a 
Cleopatra.  It  is  not  much  trouble  to  become  so  utterly  and  astonishingly 
useless,  or  so  disgustingly  vile  as  to  even  find  a  lasting  place  in  history 
because  of  exceptional  weakness  of  character  or  unparalleled  wickedness 
of  conduct.  It  is  never  difficult  to  float  down  the  stream,  and  in  the 
descent  down  the  hillside  the  descending  body  gathers  velocity  with  every 
turn.  Ancient  republics  were  builded  upon  the  strong  arm  of  labor,  and 
were  the  products  of  the  fertile  fields  surrounding  them.  But  when  they 
sought  to  sift  the  gold  from  the  dirt,  worshiping  the  glittering  dust  and 
despising  the  earth  which  holds  it,  the  top  of  the  hill  had  been  reached, 
and  the  descent  began.  Rome  might  to-day  have  presented  to  the  world 
the  continuous  history  of  a  republic  had  she  not  forgotten  to  honor  the 
hand  that  carved  her  fortunes  and  gave  her  embellishment.  If  we  can 
escape  these  dangers  as  cities  and  as  a  Republic,  patriotism  and  selfishness 
alike  must  certainly  prompt  us  to  do  it.  •  The  dignity  of  labor  must  be 
upheld  as  a  work  of  responsible,  patriotic  citizenship.  Our  young  men 
and  our  maidens  must  be  taught  that  labor  is  honorable,  and  especially 
that  industry  which  has  made  our  proud  Republic  and  built  and  adorned 
our  massive  cities,  is  worthy  not  only  of  their  adoration,  but  of  the  practical 
devotion  of  their  lives. 

Nor  is  this  a  supremely  difficult  undertaking.     American   manhood 
and  womanhood  are  approachable  with  reason.     In  all  the  world  there  is 


362  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS, 

not  another  people  so  thoroughly  evenly  balanced  as  this  people.  '  Excite- 
ment may  whirl  them  about  for  a  moment  or  a  day,  as  the  ship  is  tossed 
upon  the  ocean;  passion  may  burst  forth  like  a  threatening  flame  and 
glare  savagely  for  an  instant,  and  allurements  may  temporarily  charm 
from  the  path  of  duty  to  self,  to  country  and  posterity,  but  reason  asserts 
itself  just  before  danger  is  to  be  consummated,  and  as  a  people  the  decision 
is  always  right.  What  our  people  are  in  their  collective  capacity,  they 
»are  in  individual  character.  Approachable,  ultimately  temperate  in  judg- 
ment, however  apparently  wild  in  previous  expression,  and  inclined  to 
listen  to  argument,  an  erroneous  course  of  action,  if  demonstrated  to  be 
erroneous,  will  usually  be  abandoned ;  and,  therefore,  it  is  believed  that 
the  city  lip  which  curls  in  disdain  when  the  tiller  of  the  soil  is  mentioned, 
could  without  much  trouble  be  smoothed  into  natural  shape,  and  that  the 
rush  of  boys  and  girls  from  the  farms  to  the  city  might  with  equally  little 
trouble  be  stopped. 

If  farming  were  considered  fashionable,  it  will  be  admitted,  we  pre- 
sume, that  the  city  would  be  the  most  unfortunate  of  places,  except,  perhaps, 
the  farms  on  which  city  farmers  were  operating.  Our  young  gentlemen 
would  replace  their  kid  gloves  with  buckskins,  and  their  dainty  canes  with 
pitchforks,  and  our  young  ladies  would  cover  their  silks  with  calico  and 
drop  the  crimper  to  take  up  the  rolling  pin.  The  city  would  be  depopulated, 
and  its  streets  be  left  to  the  adornment  or  disfigurement  of  growing  grasses. 
It  is  not  at  all  unlikely  that  there  would  be  more  luxuriant  crops  in  the 
city  streets  than-  there  would  be  on  farms  cultivated  by  the  city  deserters. 
All  that  seems  to  be  necessary,  therefore,  is  to  invest  agriculture  with  the 
charm  of  fashion,  and  even  with  its  hard  work  it  will  be  placed  by  a 
universal  verdict  at  the  head  of  human  occupations;  and  perhaps  a  glance 
at  its  history  and  the  esteem  in  which  it  has  been  held  by  great  men  and 
noted  nations  in  the  past  will  have  a  tendency  to  awaken  for  it  a  respect 
and  admiration  in  such  minds — young  or  old — which  have  drifted  to  the 
conclusion  that  a  rugged,  independent  farmer  is  not  quite  as  important  to 
society  as  a  drygoods  clerk  who  labors  ten  hours  a  day,  sleeps  in  an  attic 
and  boards  at  a  cheap  restaurant. 

The  progress  and  standing  of  agricultural  industries  have  been  lost 
sight  of  in  the  empty  show  of  less  useful  occupations,  and  in  the  hurricane 
of  noises  which  those  who  practice  them  have  indulged  in.  Agriculture 
is  the  most  ancient  of  human  occupations.  If  we  are  believers  in  the 
Scriptures,  we  are  believers  of  this;  and  without  the  Bible  as  our  instructor, 
we  must  naturally  arrive  at  the  same  conclusion  to  which  it  leads  us. 
Through  the  Bible  record  the  promoter  of  agricultural  industries  is  held 
prominently  before  the  reader,  and  if  we  accept  the  Scriptures  as  the 
Word  of  God,  we  must  conclude  that  He  who  planted  Eden,  desired  to 
especially  commend  the  tilling  of  the  soil.  But  leaving  the  Biblical  record 
of  farming  operations  out  of  the  question,  the  art,  or  science  as  advocated 
and  practiced  by  men  and  peoples  of  prominence,  unmentioned  in  this, 
connection  in  Scripture,  dates  sufficiently  far  back  to  entitle  it  to  our  respect 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  363 

as  an  intelligently  fostered  ancient  occupation.  In  the  time  of  Homer, 
agriculture  may  be  said  to  have  been  fashionable — so  much  so  that  King 
Laertes  entered  upon  the  practical  cultivation  of  the  soil,  believing  that 
that  would  add  to  his  kingly  dignity.  Hesiod,  the  contemporary  of  Homer, 
was  the  author  of  a  poem  upon  agriculture.  Xenophon  wrote  a  treatise 
upon  the  subject,  and  occasional  mention  is  made  of  it  in  the  works  of 
Aristotle  and  Theophrastus.  These  are  by  no  means,  however,  the  extent 
of  Grecian  agricultural  literature.  Varro  says  that  there  were  at  least  fifty 
authorities  upon  agriculture  in  his  time.  But  those  we  have  mentioned 
are  all  that  have  been  preserved. 

The  Carthaginians  were  evidently  devotees  of  farming,  Mago,  one 
of  their  famous  generals,  being  the  author  of  no  less  than  twenty-eight 
agricultural  books,  and  "  it  is  probable,"  as  says  a  writer,  "  that  under  the 
auspices  of  these  people  agriculture  flourished  in  Sicily,  which  was  after- 
ward the  granary  of  Rome."  At  all  events  the  devotion  of  such  a  man 
as  Mago,  whose  training  would  naturally  be  supposed  to  direct  his  thoughts 
in  an  entirely  different  course,  to  agriculture,  to  a  degree  that  he  expended 
time  and  study  sufficient  to  prepare  such  a  large  number  of  volumes,  is 
indicative  that  the  farm  and  the  husbandman  occupied  an  exalted  position 
in  the  esteem  of  Carthage.  The  hand  that  wielded  the  sword  was  not 
afraid  to  grasp  the  pen  to,do  homage  to  the  field,  and  to  instruct  the  tiller 
of  the  soil.  Whether  pleasure  or  duty  prompted  him,  the  fact  that  he 
considered  the  subject  worthy  his  attention,  remains. 

The  Romans  were  enthusiastic  promoters  of  agricultural  interests, 
until  they  became  profligate  and  debased.  In  the  early  ages  of  the  Re- 
public its  greatest  men  were  farmers.  Cincinnatus,  the  good  and  the  pure, 
came  from  the  plow  to  the  office  of  dictator,  and  returned  to  it  when  his 
work  was  finished.  Regulus  was  as  much  interested  in  his  little  farm  as 
he  was  in  the  honors  of  his  office,  and  requested  the  Senate  to  grant  him 
the  privilege  of  returning  to  it  for  a  short  period.  In  addition  to  Varro, 
Cato,  Columella,  Pliny,  Palladius  and  Virgil  wrote  frequently  of  matters 
pertaining  to  agriculture.  It  is  not  likely  that  any  American  would  think 
it  a  disgrace  to  be  compared  intellectually  with  any  of  these  men;  and  it 
is  barely  possible  that  some  of  our  young  men  who  feel  that  nature  has 
molded  them  too  nicely  and  too  grandly  to  even  speak  respectfully  of  the 
farm,  much  less  to  engage  actively  in  the  study  or  practice  of  agriculture, 
might  consent  to  be  a  Pliny  or  a  Virgil.  With  such  illustrious  examples 
of  individual  consecration  to  the  basis  of  the  world's  glory  and  grandeur, 
and  while  history  records  the  unfortunate  fact  that  with  the  decline  of  such 
a  rich,  powerful  and  brilliant  community  as  the  Roman  Republic,  came  a 
neglect  and  decline  of  agriculture,  neither  the  best  of  us  nor  the  worst  of 
us  need  be  ashamed  to  admire,  or  can  afford  to  despise  the  farm. 

In  our  time  we  have  made  wonderful  and  perhaps  satisfactory  progress 
in  matters  pertaining  to  agriculture;  and  yet  all  that  we  have  may  not, 
after  all,  be  so  much  in  advance  of  some  things  which  were  possessed  by 
those  who  went  before  us.  We  are  exceedingly  apt  to  base  our  claims 


364  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

of  superiority  to  the  past  upon  very  unstable  grounds.  The  present  is  not 
exactly  a  morning  that  has  followed  thousands  of  years  of  night.  The 
day  began  to  break  sometime  before  the  eighteenth  century.  There  was 
some  light  playing  upon  the  flowers  and  on  the  walks  of  the  Garden  of 
Eden,  and  it  has  not  grown  any  dimmer  through  all  the  years  that  have 
intervened  between  then  and  now,  and  in  some  respects,  perhaps,  it  has  not 
grown  any  brighter.  It  is  very  certain  that  in  some  arts  and  customs  the  past 
excelled  us,  and  it  is  by  no  means  certain  that  even  in  labor  saving  machinery 
we  are  so  far  ahead  that  we  can  afford  to  fold  our  arms,  under  the  delusion 
that  perfection  has  been  reached.  It  is  somewhat  difficult  to  determine 
what  was  the  character  of  the  agricultural  implements  used  by  the  Romans; 
but  "  it  is  clear,"  as  Crabbe  remarks,  "  that  they  used  the  plow,  with  and 
without  wheels,  with  and  without  boards,  with  and  without  coulters, 
and  with  shares  of  different  construction."  Both  Pliny  and  Palladius 
speak  of  a  reaping  machine  which  was  in  use,  and  which  was  drawn  by 
oxen,  a  favorite  animal  alike  among  the  Jews,  Grecians  and  Romans. 

After  the  decline  of  the  Empire  agriculture  lost  much  of  its  dignity, 
because  of  the  unnatural  condition  of  the  Romans.  From  that  time  until 
the  fifteenth  century,  not  a  book,  or  line,  so  far  as  is  known,  was  written 
upon  the  subject,  except  the  Geoponics,  which  was  probably  collected  by 
Constantine  Pogonatus,  by  whom  it  was  published.  After  this  long 
interval,  Crescenzio,  of  Bologna,  compiled  a  little  work  which  he  collected 
from  Roman  authors,  and  which  had  the  effect  to  call  the  attention  of  his 
countrymen  to  the  long  neglected  subject.  Crescenzio's  work  was  followed 
by  some  Italian  agricultural  literature,  and  the  result  was  a  revival  of  the 
long  neglected  interest.  But  the  grand  impulse  was  the  feudal  system, 
which  although  never  having  existed  in  our  country,  as  a  fact,  does  in 
some  sense  have  a  technical  existence  everywhere,  or  in  other  words,  the 
owner  of  landed  property  is  given  an  importance  and  influence  which  are 
not  possessed,  as  a  rule,  by  other  citizens.  At  the  present  the  principal 
advantages  and  privileges  which  the  feudal  system  gave  to  the  owner  of 
the  land,  still  exist  and  must  exist,  while  the  burdens  and  restraints  upon 
others  are  no  more.  Young  men  in  and  out  of  the  city  cannot  understand 
this  too  soon.  The  soil  of  a  country  is  the  country,  and  whoever  owns  it 
owns  the  country.  Our  young  men  are  negligent  of  duty  to  themselves, 
and  are  unfitted  to  assume  some  of  the  most  important  relations  of  life, 
unless  they  make  the  ownership  of  land  a  prime  object  of  life.  But  a 
home,  and  a  home  in  the  country  which  supplies  the  city  with  food,  apparel, 
wealth  and  grandeur,  is  usually  preferred.  Under  no  circumstances  under- 
rate the  farm  home  or  the  farmer.  It  is  'they  who  are  leading  America 
to  peerless  greatness. 

That  part  of  agricultural  industry  which  we  call  stock  raising,  has 
developed  into  immense  propoxtions  in  this  country,  and  is  constantly 
enlarging.  The  introduction  of  improved  breeds  of  cattle,  sheep  and 
s\vine  has  made  the  business  profitable,  and  our  large  area  of  cheap  lands, 
by  enabling  us  to  produce  meats  at  comparatively  small  cost,  has  made  us 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  365 

formidable  competitors  of  European  stock  raisers  in  their  own  markets. 
The  breeding,  raising  and  fattening  of  live  stock,  especially  in  the  West, 
have  been  reduced  to  scientific  exactness,  and  are  in  the  hands  of  men  who 
are  more  than  ordinarily  intelligent  and  enterprising.  No  industry  per- 
taining to  the  farm  is  at  this  time  upon  a  more  solid  basis,  or  more  carefully 
prosecuted.  The  speculative  spirit  which  at  one  time  controlled  the 
business,  so  far  as  improved  breeds  were  concerned,  has  given  way  to 
sound  commercial  principles,  and  the  animal  sells  for  what  it  is  worth, 
and  not  for  what  fashionable,  not  to  say  foolish,  caprice  asks  for  it.  The 
result  is  that  our  fine  imported  cattle,  hogs  and  sheep,  or  their  descendants, 
instead  of  being  confined  to  those  farms  whose  owners  have  more  money 
than  judgment,  are  very  generally  scattered  over  the  country,  and  are 
within  reach  of  the  humblest  farmer  in  the  land.  It  is  not  the  lack  of 
money  but  the  want  of  enterprise  that  in  these  days  shuts  the  gate  of  any 
stock  yard  against  the  entrance  of  the  best  breeds.  The  markets  of  the 
world  are  open  to  and  eager  for  American  meats,  and  ordinary  wisdom 
suggests  to  us  that  our  interests  lie  in  the  direction  of  furnishing  what  the 
markets  call  for.  We  cannot  sell  scrub  stock  to  advantage,  even  at  home, 
and  it  is  thoroughly  unmerchantable  in  Europe".  To  compete  with  the 
fine  meats  of  England,  we  must  produce  the  very  best  and  produce  it  at 
a  less  cost  than  they  can  do  it  there;  and  this  we  can  do.  English  stock 
raisers  are  jealous  of  the  American  product,  simply  for  the  reason  that  it 
is  as  good  as  theirs  and  can  be  sold  cheaper.  They  do  not  hesitate  to  say 
that  our  cattle  "kill"  as  well  as  theirs,  and  their  only  hope  of  saving  them- 
selves from  ruin  is  to  induce  the  government  to  place  such  restrictions 
upon  the  sale  of  American  meats  as  to  seriously  embarrass  our  shippers. 
A  recent  government  decree  that  American  cattle  shall  be  slaughtered 
very  soon  after  their  arrival,  is  of  this  character,  the  object  being  to  pre- 
vent the  feeding  up  necessary  to  bring  the  animal  into  the  best  condition- 
It  may  well  be  doubted  if  the  plea  that  such  measures  are  prompted  by 
fear  of  contagious  disease  is  anything  but  a  pretense,  for  it  is  not  probable 
that  a  people  could  be  so  deceived  as  to  believe  that  disease  exists  when  it 
does  not.  A  prominent  English  breeder  once  said  to  an  American  ex- 
porter of  cattle  that  England  would  find  it  necessary  to  embarrass  the 
American  export  trade  in  some  manner,  or  English  breeders  would  be 
ruined;  and  that  is  doubtless  the  spirit  which  prompts  all  such  restrictions 
as  the  English  government  has  seen  fit  thus  far  to  impose. 

Such  things  show,  however,  how  vast  the  live  stock  interest  in  the 
United  States  is,  and  how  such  corporations  as  our  own  Union  Stock 
Yards  are  enabled  to  amass  wealth  so  rapidly,  and  to  such  an  extent  as  to 
furnish  well  defined  grounds  of  alarm  among  those  who  have  learned  the 
lessons  which  history  teaches,  and  are  consequently  prepared  to  see  danger 
in  a  too  large  concentration  of  capital.  In  the  report  of  receipts  at  the 
Union  Stock  Yards  for  one  week — which  lies  before  us — we  find  that  thirty- 
three  thousand  cattle,  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  hogs  and  six  thou- 
sand sheep  came  into  these  yards.  This  large  number  of  cattle,  swine  and 


366  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

sheep  is  not  for  an  exceptional  week,  but  is  about  the  average  business 
done  at  these  yards,  and  shows  what  the  interest  really  is.  The  annual 
receipts  set  this  forth  still  more  prominently,  and  the  increase  of  business 
from  year  to  year  gives  a  clear  view  of  the  enormous  increase  of  stock 
breeding  and  feeding  in  the  West. 

There  is  in  the  United  States  at  this  writing  thirty-three  million,  two 
hundred  and  thirty-four  thousand,  five  hundred  cattle;  thirty-eight  million, 
one  hundred  and  twenty-six  thousand  swine,  and  thirty-four  million,  seven 
hundred  and  sixty  thousand,  one  hundred  sheep;  figures  of  such  dimensions 
as  to  create  profound  astonishment,  and  yet  they  are  small  as  compared  to 
what  the  future  will  produce.  Our  country  is  a  new  country,  and  but 
very  partially  settled.  Millions  of  acres  are  yet  untouched  by  an  imple- 
ment, and  even  unpressed  by  a  human  foot.  From  ocean  to  ocean  and 
from  Canada  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  every  foot  of  farming  land  will  some 
time  be  occupied,  while  in  the  older  sections  of  the  country,  the  popula- 
tion will  double,  treble  and  perhaps  quadruple.  There  is  no  doubt  whatever 
that  this  country  will  yet  contain  a  population  equal  to  the  present  entire 
population  of  the  globe.  The  world  is  pouring  its  intellect  and  its  muscle 
into  the  Republic  of  the  West,  and  it  will  continue  to  do  so  as  long  as  it 
remains  the  land  of  the  free  and  the  home  of  the  brave,  and  as  long  as 
America  furnishes  better  inducements  for  labor  than  is  furnished  in  the 
crowded,  and  in  some  cases,  exhausted  communities  of  the  Old  World. 
People  will  come  from  the  night  of  tyranny  into  the  morning  of  liberty; 
from  where  labor  is  oppressed  to  where  labor  is  free;  from  where  the  few 
live  and  the  many  starve,  to  where  industry  and  enterprise  are  justly 
rewarded.  The  result  must  be  an  increase  of  general  prosperity,  and  its 
certain  accompaniment,  an  increase  of  consumption.  Paupers  will  be 
converted  into  prosperous  citizens,  and  the  foremost  industry  of  the  nation, 
agriculture,  in  all  its  branches,  must  receive  a  quickening  which  will  ripen 
into  a  development  that  will  make  its  present  condition,  grand  as  it  is,  seem 
exceedingly  meager. 


367 


ISAAC   WAIXEL. 


The  lives  of  eminently  successful  business  men  are  found  to  be 
subjects  of  story  as  attractive  to  this  generation  as  those  of  monarchs  or 
heroes;  and  the  admiration  bestowed  upon  those  who  have  surmounted 
the  difficulties  which  beset  all  and  wreck  so  many,  and  become  victors 
and  representative  men,  is  just  and  legitimate.  Men  of  mediocre  talents 
and  indifferent  energy  may  prove  successful  as  warriors,  rulers  or  legislators, 
but  in  the  commercial  world  nothing  but  superior  ability,  tireless  energy 
and  sleepless  enterprise  can  hope  to  reach  permanent  eminence.  The 
life  of  the  merchant  or  other  commercial  representative  is  a  hand-to-hand 
conflict  with  competing  forces  and  frequently  with  adverse  circumstances. 
It  brings  into  activity  every  attribute  of  the  human  mind,  and  often  requires 
a  courage  which  would  shadow  that  necessary  to  face  opposing  forces  on 
the  battle  field.  Success  in  general  business  enterprises,  in  fact,  pre- 
supposes a  better  defined  and  more  brilliant  genius  than  that  so  freely 
attributed  to  the  poet  or  artist,  and  when  success  has  been  achieved  by 
a  man  who  began  on  the  very  lowest  round  of  the  ladder,  lifting  himself 
by  his  own  unaided  efforts  and  the  judicious  employment  of  his  natural 
abilities,  into  position  and  affluence,  his  recognized  genius  clouds  the  fame 
of  any  prince  or  potentate  in  the  world.  The  time  was  when  humble- 
ness of  beginning  would  forever  shadow  the  most  brilliant  successes  in 
after  life.  But  the  world  has  grown  wiser  and  more  reasonable,  until  the 
proudest  title  a  man  can  wear  is  that  he  is  self-made — that  his  success  is 
the  harvest  of  his  own  individual  sowing  and  cultivation. 

To  no  man  more  than  to  Isaac  Waixel,  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
does  the  honor  of  being  self-made,  nor  do  the  qualities  which  command 
the  world's  respect  and  admiration  belong.  By  sheer  force  of  will, 
indomitable  energy  and  an  honorable  course  of  life,  he  has  raised  himself 
from  the  position  of  a  peddler  of  Yankee  notions  to  that  of  one  of  Chi- 
cago's most  influential  and  substantial  citizens,  and  has  achieved  his  really 
brilliant  success  in  the  short  period  of  twenty-five  years. 

Isaac  Waixel  was  born  in  the  month  of  October,  1830,  at  Rembach, 
Hesse  Darmstadt,  Germany,  and  is  the  son  of  Henry  and  Caroline  Waixel. 
His  childhood  was  spent  at  home,  and  he  enjoyed  some,  although  very 
limited  school  privileges,  his  education  being  the  result  of  his  own  personal 
and  unaided  efforts  to  acquire  knowledge  in  after  years.  Nothing  of  a 
specially  interesting  character  occurred  in  the  life  of  young  Waixel,  until  he 


368  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

was  twenty-two  years  of  age,  when  we  find  him  in  America  traveling 
through  the  counties  of  Delaware,  Ulster  and  Otsego,  New  York,  peddling 
Yankee  notions,  which  he  carried  in  a  basket.  Even  then,  the  enter- 
prising spirit  which  has  since  distinguished  him,  was  observed,  for  he 
soon  enlarged  his  stock,  substituted  a  pack  for  his  basket,  and  revisited 
the  counties  through  which  he  had  pi-eviously  traveled.  But  he  soon 
outgrew  the  pack,  and  in  1854  purchased  a  horse  and  wagon,  and  began 
selling  dry  goods,  clothing,  jewelry  and  watches.  He  was  not  long 
engaged  in  this  business,  however,  before  he  entered  into  a  co-partnership 
with  two  brothers  named  Marx,  and  kept  a  store  in  Delhi,  New  York. 
The  new  firm  prospered  satisfactorily  until  the  panic  of  1857  broke  upon 
the  country.,  when  like  many  other  houses,  it  was  compelled  to  suspend, 
leaving  the  partners  .under  a  burden  of  indebtedness;  and  yet  this  misfor- 
tune was,  after  all,  not  so  great  a  misfortune  to  the  subject  of  our  sketch 
as  it  would  have  been  to  one  of  less  sterling  character.  It  furnished  him 
the  opportunity  to  show  the  world  his  unflinching  honesty,  for  in  1860 
he  paid  the  entire  indebtedness  of  his  firm,  and  has  never  been  reimbursed 
by  those  who  were  equally  liable. 

After  his  failure  in  Delhi,  Mr.  Waixel  came  to  Chicago,  arriving  in 
the  Fall  of  1857,  and  immediately  engaged  in  dealing  in  live  stock.  In  1859 
he  formed  a  co-partnership  with  Nelson  Morris,  and  from  that  time  until 
1861  the  firm  was  Morris  &  Waixel.  In  1861  Moses  Rhineman  v,as 
admitted  as  a  partner  and  the  firm  name  was  changed  to  Morris,  Waixel 
&  Rhineman,  which  was  the  style  until  1865,  when  Mr.  Morris  withdrew 
and  the  firm  became  Waixel  &  Rhineman,  which  continued  in  business 
for  about  two  years,  and  was  then  dissolved.  After  this  Mr.  Waixel  took 
his  brother  David  into  his  business,  and  until  October,  1873,  they  did 
business  under  the  name  and  style  of  I.  &  D.  Waixel.  From  that  date, 
however,  until  1875,  the  old  firm  of  Morris  &  Waixel  was  again  in  exist- 
ence, which  was  then  supplanted  for  a  year  by  I.  &  D.  Waixei.  In  1876 
our  subject  entered  into  a  co-partnership  with  Samuel  W.  Allerton,  and 
until  1878  the  firm  was  Waixel  &  Allerton.  At  present  Mr.  Waixel  is 
prosecuting  his  immense  business  without  a  partner. 

Few  men  in  any  branch  of  trade  are  privileged  to  do  the  volume 
of  business  which  Mr.  Waixel  has  done  since  entering  into  the  cattle 
trade.  During  the  years  1871  and  1872  the  business  of  his  firm  aggregated 
twenty  million  dollars  a  year;  and  during  the  war  of  the  rebellion 
Morris,  Waixel  &  Rhineman  had  contracts  with  the  government  to  fur- 
nish live  cattle  to  be  delivered  at  Baltimore,  Philadelphia,  Louisville  and 
other  points.  Yet  amidst  all  the  responsibilities  necessarily  growing-  out 
of  such  constantly  large  transactions,  Mr.  Waixel  has  never  failed  in 
exercising  cool  judgment  and  extraordinary  foresight,  and  in  otherwise 
displaying  the  magnificent  business  characteristics  of  his  mind. 

At  Norfolk,  Virginia,  September  ist,  1863,  Mr.  Waixel  was  married 
to  Caroline  HofFheimer,  a  lady  of  superior  endowments.  Five  children 
have  blessed  this  union:  David,  born  August  6th,  1865;  Monie,  born  April 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  260 

i6th,  1867;  Clara,  born  May,  1869;  Harry,  born  April,  1872,  and  died 
February  2d,  1877;  Florence,  born  May,  1874.  In  his  elegant  home  the 
husband  and  father  is  surrounded  by  this  most  interesting  family,  upon 
which  he  bestows  the  kindness  of  a  manly  heart,  and  in  which  he  cherishes 
a  pardonable  pride.  With  all  his  large  business  interests,  claiming  so 
much  of  his  thought  and  attention,  he  neither  forgets  his  duties  in  the 
home  circle,  nor  fails  to  respond  to  the  demands  of  the  church  and  society. 
For  many  years  he  has  been  connected  with  Zion  Congregation,  and 
the  Hebrew  Relief  Society,  and  is  also  a  member  of  the  Standard  Club. 
We  thus  close  this  brief  sketch  of  a  life  which  has  been  brilliantly 
successful,  honorable  and  useful;  a  life  which  is  worthy  of  imitation  by 
those  who  are  gifted  with  the  necessary  ability  to  reach  the  honorable 
prominence  which  Mr.  Waixel  has  reached,  and  the  record  of  which  as 
the  embodiment  of  honor,  will  be  a  rich  inheritance  of  all  who  may 
hereafter  bear  the  name  of  him  who  has  achieved  so  much  and  so  grandly; 
and  yet  in  the  prime  of  life,  our  subject  has  many  years  before  him  in 
which  to  add  to  the  laurels  of  success  which  are  already  his,  and  to  still 
more  deeply  impress  himself  upon  the  growth  of  the  great  metropolis 
of  tl'o  prain'  s. 


37° 


WILSON  THOMPSON   KEENAN. 


Wilson  T.  Keenan  was  born  in  Warren  county,  Ohio,  October  lyth, 
1836,  and  is  the  son  of  Joseph  and  Eliza  Keenan.  His  father  was  always 
one  of  those  active  and  enterprising  men  who  meet  fortune  half  way  and 
never  wait  for  it  to  be  thrust  upon  them.  Self-reliant,  far-seeing  and  gifted 
with  more  than  an  ordinary  degree  of  judgment,  he  was  quick  to  detect 
•opportunities  and  had  decision  of  character  enough  to  embrace  them.  It 
was  such  traits  of  mind  and  character  that  made  him  a  pioneer  in  the 
business  of  pork  packing  and  the  hog  trade  in  the  West.  When  Kentucky, 
Ohio  and  Indiana  produced  all  the  hogs  that  were  grown  in  the  midst  of 
this  present  great  hog  producing  section  of  country,  he  entered  upon  the 
business  in  Cincinnati.  His  keen  foresight  enabled  him  thus  early  to 
discern  the  importance  and  profitableness  of  this  vast  industry. 

Our  subject,  therefore,  has  been  heir  to  a  rich  inheritance  of  natural 
-ability,  which  he  has  supplemented  by  patient  application  to  business  and 
untiring  industry.  Possessing  in  an  eminent  degree  the  elements  of  suc- 
cess, he  has  trained  them  in  the  proper  direction.  His  birthright  of  well 
poised  intellect  was  great,  but  he  is  in  the  most  literal  sense  a  self-made 
man.  Since  he  was  thirteen  years  of  age,  he  has  been  fighting  the  battle 
of  life  under  his  own  magnificent  generalship.  With  such  an  education 
as  a  district  school  would  furnish  a  boy,  he  went  out  into  the  world,  at 
.  that  early  age,  to  carve  his  own  fortune,  apprenticing  himself  to  learn  the 
business  of  butchering,  which,  like  everything  he  has  ever  undertaken,  he 
did  in  a  most  thorough  manner. 

When  nineteen  years  old,  young  Keenan  came  to  Illinois,  settling  at 
Quincy,  and  first  identified  himself  with  the  progress  of  this  State,  by 
assisting  in  the  construction  of  the  Chicago,  Burlington  &  Quincy  railroad. 
For  a  time  he  was  the  station  agent  at  Colchester,  on  this  road ;  but  he 
made  his  most  prominent  entrance  into  the  business  of  the  State  in  1857, 
when  he  bought  grain  on  the  line  of  the  Burlington  road  for  shipment  to 
St.  Louis,  and  also  hogs,  which  he  shipped  to  Quincy.  In  the  Winter 
of  1858-9  he  superintended  the  buying  of  Jiogs  and  packing  of  pork  for 
Hurlburt  &  Provost,  at  Keithsburg.  The  next  Winter  he  was  at  Burling- 
ton, Iowa,  in  the  same  business  for  other  parties.  In  1860-1  he  was 
engaged  in  slaughtering  and  shipping  dressed  hogs  at  Camp  Point,  Illinois. 
During  the  year  following  he  built  slaughter  houses  at  West  Quincy, 
Missouri,  and  Quincy,  Illinois,  and  packed  pork  until  the  close  of  the  war 


r  '  r 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS  371 

of  the  rebellion,  in  1865,  when  he  came  to  Chicago,  and  commenced  in 
the  live  stock  commission  business  at  the  Union  Stock  Yards,  being  among 
the  pioneers  in  this  business  at  these  yards.  From  that  time  up  to  the 
present,  Mr.  Keenan  ha,s  been  a  prominent  feature  in  the  history  of 
the  business  at  this  center  of  the  live  stock  trade  in  the  West.  No  man 
connected  with  this  fertile  source  of  income  to  Chicago,  commands  greater 
respect,  or  is  more  enterprising  and  alert.  In  handling  every  description 
of  live  stock  his  firm  is  abreast  with  the  foremost.  The  firm  of  which 
Mr.  Keenan  is  a  member,  has,  perhaps,  larger  consignments  of  Texan 
cattle  than  any  other  concern ;  and  this  is  probably  attributable  to  the  fact 
that  Mr.  Keenan's  name  and  enterprise  have  been  made  familiar  by  his 
assistance  in  laying  out  the  trail  by  which  stock  from  the  Lone  Star  State 
is  driven  to  Abilene,  Kansas. 

On  the  twenty-sixth  of  February,  1857,  Mr.  Keenan  was  married,  at 
Quincy,  Illinois,  to  Martha  Ann  Tatman,  who  is  a  lady  of  superior  char- 
acter, and  to  whom  a  husband  gives  credit  for  the  only  assistance  that  he 
has  ever  had  in  his  struggle  for  the  position  he  now  holds  among  his 
fellow-men.  Six  children  have  blessed  this  union — William  E.,  Horace 
M.,  Laura  D.,  Joseph  L.,  Mattie  Anderson  and  Robert  Ray. 

It  is  exceedingly  difficult  to  find  language  to  express  a  correct  estimate 
of  a  character  which  has  been  developed  by  a  young  boy  into  such  com- 
manding proportions  as  those  which  distinguish  the  character  of  our 
subject.  Among  the  foremost  of  the  men  who  are  identified  with  an 
industry  in  which  not  only  Chicago,  but  the  entire  West,  and  indeed  the 
whole  country,  are  intimately  interested;  enjoying  an  influence  and  affluence 
which  most  men  would  envy;  prosecuting  a  business  which  is  immense 
in  its  aggregate  results  and  very  intricate  in  details,  yet  Mr.  Keenan  has 
lifted  himself  into  the  proud  position  he  occupies.  The  voyage  from  such 
an  humble  start  has  not  always  been  upon  tranquil  waters.  '  Storms  have 
sometimes  come,  and  many  times  have  threatened;  but  there  has  never 
been  a  cloud  that  has  not  melted  into  sunshine — never  a  storm  that  was 
not  followed  by  a  calm.  Mr.  Keenan  has  triumphed  over  obstacles  that 
would  have  appalled  and  paralyzed  a  less  gifted  and  less  determined  man. 
But  he  is  of  that  class  of  heroes  who  never  know  when  they  are  whipped, 
and  who,  consequently,  convert  every  disaster  into  victory,  building 
palaces  and  temples  upon  ruins,  and  thus  concealing  beneath  beauty  and 
woi'th  the  disfigurement  of  wrecks  which  cannot  always  be  avoided,  but 
which  need  not  be  left  as  a  monument  of  desolation. 

Wilson  Thompson  Keenan  is  a  successful  man.  He  has  fought  a 
valiant  battle  and  is  the  victor.  In  the  midst  of  difficulties  at  the  beginning, 
and  in  the  center  of  competition  that  would  sometimes  seem  to  verge 
upon  recklessness,  he  has  held  his  own,  preserved  his  honor  untarnished, 
accumulated  a  fortune  which  evidently  is  ample,  but  can  only  be  estimated, 
has  contributed  to  the  wealth  and  development  of  this  great  city,  and  has 
won  the  esteem  and  confidence  of  the  thousands  who  know  him. 


372 


JOHN  H.  WOOD 

The  subject  of  the  following  sketch — at  present  one  of  our  most 
prominent  live  stock  commission  merchants — :is  a  representative  of  a  class 
which  is  confined  almost  exclusively  to  our  own  country,  and  is  comprised 
of  men  who  are  distinguished  for  having  achieved  prominence  through 
their  own  unaided  effort.  Many  of  the  brightest  names  in  American  his- 
tory are  those  of  statesmen,  authors,  poets,  orators,  warriors,  inventors  and 
business  men  whose  origins  were  obscure  and  unpromising.  In  our  Re- 
public there  is  no  unnatural  or  unusual  obstacle  to  success.  Obscurity  may 
blossom  into  fame;  poverty  may  clothe  itself  in  the  splendors  of  wealth; 
ignorance  may  lose  itself  in  the  highest  culture.  America  is  the  one 
favored  spot  on  earth  where  the  triumphs  of  life  are  as  plentiful  as  merits, 
and  where  merit  alone  wins.  Nor  was  the  truth  of  this  claim  ever  more 
prominently  confirmed  than  it  is  in  the  life  we  are  about  to  sketch. 

John  H.  Wood  was  born  in  Embrow,  County  of  Oxford,  Canada, 
September  3ist,  1835.  His  father's  name  was  Alexander,  and  his  mother's 
Barbra  McPherson,  both  of  whom  are  of  Scotch  nativity,  and  possessed 
of  the  proverbial  sterling  Scotch  character,  which  the  son  has  inherited. 
The  father  was  a  prosperous  brewer,  mill  owner  and  dairyman,  quite  able 
to  take  care  of  and  educate  his  children,  but  from  one  cause  and  another — 
probably  as  much  owing  to  the  willfulness  of  the  son  as  to  anything  else 
— John,  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  had  enjoyed  no  facilities  for  education,  and 
indeed  was  not  able  to  read  or  write  until  after  arriving  at  his  majority 
and  even  after  his  marriage.  At  the  age  of  fourteen,  against  the  wishes 
of  his  parents,  he  determined  to  begin  life  for  himself,  showing  the  same 
indomitable  will  which  has  characterized  him  through  life,  and  has  enabled 
him  to  surmount  obstacles  which  comparatively  few  men  could  do.  His 
control  over  himself  and  his  surroundings  was  then,  and  has  ever  since 
been  absolute.  He  has  always  been  of  that  most  valiant  class  of  heroes, 
who  could  conquer  himself,  if  it  were  necessary  for  a  complete  achieve- 
ment of  any  special  object. 

Leaving  home  at  this  early  age  he  began  driving  stage  from  Wood- 
stock to  Stratford — a  route  of  twenty-five  miles  in  length — but  followed 
this  occupation  for  only  three  months.  Young  as  he  was,  he  saw  that  in 
such  a  business  he  could  neither  secure  standing  nor  competence,  and,  there- 
fore, directed  his  steps,  with  extraordinary  wisdom,  toward  the  acquirement 
of  a  trade.  He  went  to  Brantfoid,  Canada,  and  apprenticed  himself  for 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS   DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  373 

three  years  to  learn  the  business  of  carriage  trimming.  It  was  a  noble 
act,  and  was  indicative  of  the  character  of  the  man — self-reliant,  indepen- 
dent and  far  seeing.  Upon  the  expiration  of  his  apprenticeship  he  worked 
as  a  journeyman  in  the  establishment  in  which  he  learned  his  trade  for 
one  year,  and  won  golden  opinions  from  his  employers  and  all  with  whom 
he  came  in  contact.  While  here  he  was  married  to  Mary  McDonald — in 
1856 — a  lady  of  estimable  virtues,  and  who  has  ever  since  rilled  her  sacred 
office  in  a  most  exemplary  manner.  After  his  marriage  Mr.  Wood  began 
the  difficult  task  of  instructing  himself  in  a  book  education.  With  his 
peculiar  power  of  application  and  his  characteristic  perseverance  in  what- 
ever he  undertakes,  he  condemned  himself,  in  his  leisure  moments,  to  the 
arduous  work  of  learning  to  read  and  write,  and  to  obtaining  a  general 
education.  He  persisted  in  this  until  he  obtained  a  good  education,  and 
was  prepared  to  begin- his  prosperous  career  in  Chicago. 

In  1859  Mr.  Wood  came  to  Chicago,  and  entered  upon  the  business 
of  liveryman  and  carnage  manufacturer,  in  which  he  was  engaged  until 
1861.  Leaving  this  business  he  engaged  with  William  M.  Tilden  in  the 
capacity  of  a  buyer  of  hogs  at  the  Fort  Wayne  Stock  Yards,  which 
position  he  retained  until  1865,  when  he  commenced  business  for  himself 
as  a  live  stock  commission  merchant,  and  from  that  beginning  the  great 
firm  of  Wood  Brothers  at  the  Union  Stock  Yards  has  come,  and  which  is 
doing  a  business,  probably,  second  to  none  in  that  busy  hive  of  industry. 

Personally  Mr.  Wood  is  the  most  cordial  of  gentlemen,  and  generous 
to  a  fault.  With  the  income  of  a  magnificent  business,  he  is  in  a  position 
to  be  liberal  with  his  chanties,  and  he  bestows  them  without  stint  when 
the  object  is  worthy.  Of  late  years  he  has  become  an  advocate  of  the  tem- 
perance cause,  and  the  Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union  and  Reform 
Clubs  have  found  him  a  most  liberal  patron.  During  the  last  few  years 
there  is  no  one  in  Chicago  who  has  contributed  so  munificently  to  the 
advancement  of  temperance  work  as  has  Mr.  Wood;  his  presence  or  his 
money  has  never  been  lacking,  if  either  were  required  to  stem  the  current 
of  intemperance.  His  devotion  to  the  principles  of  total  abstinence  is  as 
firm  as  his  devotion  to  his  own  private  interests. 

Mr.  Wood  has  had  seven  children  born  unto  him,  but  only  five  survive 
— James,  now  twenty-four  years  of  age,  Elizabeth  J.,  twenty-two,  William, 
twelve,  John  John,  ten  and  Agnes  B.,  six.  From  the  oldest  to  the  youngest 
these  children  are  all  that  a  doting  father  could  desire,  and  in  his  domestic 
life  the  husband  and  father  enjoys  the  reflections  of  a  paradise. 

In  closing  this  sketch,  which  is  so  fertile  of  instruction  to  youth,  the 
lad  and  to  early  manhood,  we  wish  that  it  might  be  read  by  every  boy 
and  young  man  in  all  the  world.  Here  is  such  a  brilliant  example  of  what 
determination  will  do,  that  no  boy  or  young  man,  reasonably  gifted,  has 
excuse  for  remaining  down  stairs  while  the  upper  stories  are  not  crowded. 
In  all  that  pertains  to  the  secret  of  beginning  low,  aiming  at  something 
higher,  and  achieving  success,  this  brief  outline  of  the  life  of  John  H. 
Wood  is  sufficient  to  encourage  the  youth  of  Our  country. 


374 


CHAPTER  XXV. 


FIRST    CHICAGO    DIRECTORS. 

In  the  midst  of  such  progress  as  has  been  made,  and  from  a  city  of 
over  half  a  million  people,  let  us  turn  back  once  again  to  the  humble 
beginning  of  all  this  greatness  and  grandeur.  Already  the  days  of  small 
things,  the  birth,  the  cradle  and  the  youth  of  our  metropolis  are  precious 
to  the  student  of  history,  but  as  the  years  roll  by,  and  the  record  lengthens, 
they  will  become  more  so.  The  time  will  come,  and  is  not  very  far 
distant,  either,  when  the  relics  of  early  Chicago  will  be  sought  by  the 
world  with  the  eagerness  which  marks  its  search  for  the  relics  of  antiquity. 
While,  therefore,  the  first  business  directory  of  the  city  will  not  be  new 
and  scarcely  interesting  to  many  Chicagoans,  it  will  be  of  a  character 
sufficiently  curious  and  interesting  to  those  who  are  not  Chicagoans,  and 
to  the  future,  to  warrant  its  preservation  in  a  popular  form  like  this.  Hence 
its  insertion  here.  This  directory  was  published  in  1839,  and  with  the 
exception  of  some  wrong  font  letters,  is  reproduced  according  to  the  style 
of  the  original,  as  follows: 

Adams,  William  H.,  shoe  and  leather  dealer,  138  lake  street, 
Arnold,  Isaac  N.,  attorney  and  counsellor  at  law,  dearborn  street, 
Abel,  Sidney,  postmaster,  office,  clark  street, 
Allen,  J.  P.,  boot  and  shoe  maker,  north  water  street, 
Attwood,  J.  M.,  house,  sign  and  ornamental  painter,  randolph  street, 
Bristol  &  Porter,  agents  for  C.  M.  Reed,  forward. commis.  merchants, 
Beaubien,  J.  B.  Esq.,  reservation,  fronting  the  lake, 
Blassy,  B.,  baker,  randolph  street, 

Boyce,  L.  M.,  wholesale  druggist  and  apothecary,  121  lake  street, 
Brackett,  William  W.,  city  clerk,  clark  street, 
Brown,  Henry,  attorney  and  counsellor  at  law,  clark  street, 
Bancroft,  J.  W.  &  Co.,  lake  street  coffee  house,  135  lake  street, 
Beecher,  J.,  boot  and  shoe  maker  and  leather  dealer,  160  lake  street, 
Burley,  A.  G.,  crockery,  stone  and  earthenware  merchant,  161  lake  street, 
Bates  &  Morgan,  cabinet  makers,  199  lake  street, 

Botsford  &  Beers,  copper,  tin  and  sheetiron  merchants,  dearborn  street, 
Brinkerhoff,  Dr.  John,  clark  street, 
Belts,  Dr.,  residence  and  office  michigan  street, 

Brown,  William  H.,  cashier,  Illinois  branch  state  bank,  lasalle  street, 
Boyer,  J.  K.,  corner,  south  water  street, 
Beaumont  &  Skinner,  attorneys  and  counsellors  at  law,  clark  street, 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  375 

Balestier,  J.  N.,  attorney  and  counsellor  at  law,  dark  street, 

Burton,  Stiles,  wholesale  grocer  and  liquor  dealer,  lake  and  state  strs. 

Bowen,  Erastus,  city  collector,  foot  of  south  water  street. 

Berry,  B.  A.  &  Co.,  dry  goods  and  grocery  store,  soutn  water  street, 

Bradley,  Asa  F.,  city  surveyor,  morrison's  row,  clark  street, 

Brady,  George,  constable,  alley  between  north  water  and  kinzie  street, 

Briggs  &  Humphrey,  carriage  and  wagon  makers,  randolph  street, 

Butterfield,  Justin,  attorney  and  counsellor  at  law,  dearborn  street, 

Bolles,  Nathan  H.,  county  commissioner,  overseer  of  poor,  lake  street, 

Bethime,  Andrew,  Parisian  dyer  and  scourer,  north  water  street, 

Carter,  T.  B.  &  Co.,  fancy  dry  goods  merchants,  118  lake  street, 

Clarke,  W.  H.  &  A.  F.,  wholesale  druggists  &  apothecaries,  128  lake  st. 

Cole,  A.,  ship,  house,  sign  and  ornamental  painter,  129  lake  street, 

Carney,  John,  grocery  and  provision  store,  133  lake  street, 

Cure,  P.,  grocery  and  provision  store,  randolph  street, 

Curtiss,  James,  attorney  and  counsellor  at  law,  175  lake  street, 

Clever,  J.,  soap  boiler,  factory  on  the  south  branch, 

Collins,  S.  B.  &  Co.,  boot,  shoe  and  leather  dealer,  140  lake  street, 

Church,  Thomas,  grocery  and  provision  store,  1 1 1  lake  street, 

Childs,  S.  D.,  wood  and  metal  engraver,  saloon  buildings,  clark  street, 

Clark,  L.  W.,  exchange  broker  and  lottery  agent,  150^  lake  street, 

Cleveland  &  Co.,  house,  sign  and  ornamental  painters,  dearborn  street, 

Conklin,  J.,  blacksmith,  carriage  and  wagon  repairer,  clark  street, 

Cook,  C.  W.,  Illinois  exchange,  192  lake  street, 

Cobb,  S.  B.,  saddle,  bridle,  harness  and  trunk  maker,  171  lake  street, 

Cook,  Isaac  W.,  eagle  coffee  house,  dearborn  street, 

Clarke,  Dr.,  159  lake  street, 

Cunningham,  John,  grocery,  north  water  street,  at  the  ferry, 

Couch,  Ira,  hotel  keeper,  corner  of  dearborn  and  lake  streets, 

Calhoun,  John,  collector  of  taxes,  Eddy's  store, 

Carpenter,  Philo,  druggist  and  apothecary,  south  water  street, 

Chacksfield,  George,  grocery  and  provision  store,  south  water  street, 

Collins,  J.  H.,  attorney  and  counsellor  at  law,  dearborn  street, 

Colvin,  Edwin  B.,  door  and  sash  maker,  dearborn  and  north  water  streets, 

David,  William,  boot  and  shoe  maker,  near  New  York  house,  lake  street, 

Doyle,  S.,  draper  and  tailor,  junction  of  kinzie  and  north  water  sts. 

Durand,  Charles,  attorney  and  counsellor  at  law,  149  lake  street, 

Davis,  George,  county  clerk,  159  lake  street, 

Delicker,  George,  wholesale  grocery  and  provision  store,  163  lake  street, 

Dewey,  Dr.  E.,  druggist  and  apothecary,  dearborn  street, 

Dodge  &  Tucker,  ship  chandlers  and  grocers,  south  water  street, 

Davlin,  John,  Auctioneer,  corner  of  dearborn  and  south  water  streets, 

Davis,  Miss  A.,  cloak  maker  and  tailoress,  115  lake  street, 

Dole,  George  W.,  city  treasurer,  michigan  street, 

Dyer  &  Boone,  Drs.,  state  street,  opposite  the  new  market, 

Davis,  William  H.,  constable,  south  water  street, 


376  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

Eddy  &  Co.,  hardware,  stove  and  ironmongers,  105  lake  street, 

Edwards,  Alfred,  grocery  and  provision  store,  north  water  street, 

Eldriclge,  Dr.,  clark  street,  Harmon  &  Loomis'  building, 

Etzler,  Anton,  cap,  stock  and  umbrella  maker,  151  lake  street, 

Frink  &  Bringham,  stage  office,  123  lake  street, 

Follansbe,  A.,  grocery  and  provision  store,  dearborn  street, 

Funk,  J.,  fulton  and  Illinois  markets,  95  lake  and  north  water  streets, 

Foster  &  Robb,  grocers  and  ship  chandlers,  dearborn  street, 

Follansbe,  C.,  grocerv  and  provision  store,  dearborn  street, 

Fenherty,  John,  fancy  diy  goods  store,  south  water  street, 

Fullerton,  A.  N.,  lumber  merchant,  north  water  street, 

Foot,  D.  P.,  blacksmith,  south  water  street, 

Goss,  S.  W.  &  Co.,  dry  goods  merchants,  105  lake  street, 

Gale,  S.  F.,  bookseller  and  stationer,  corner  of  lasalle  159  lake  street, 

Gale,  Mrs.,  New  York  millinery  store,  99  lake  street, 

Goodsell  &  Campbell,  dry  goods  and  grocery  store,  dearborn  street, 

Goold,  N.,  grocery  and  provision  store,  155  lake  street, 

Gurnee,  W.  S.,  saddle  and  harness  maker,  129  and  164  lake  street, 

Gray,  C.  M.,  street  commissioner,  randolph  street, 

Gill,  Edmund,  Shakspeare  hotel,  north  water  street,  near  the  lake  house, 

Graves,  D.,  Rialto,  dearborn  street, 

Gage,  J.,  flour  store,  south  water  street;  mill  on  the  south  branch, 

Gavin,  Isaac  R.,  sheriff,  randolph  st.,  north-west  corner  public  square, 

Goodrich,  Grant,  attorney  and  counsellor  at  law,  105  lake  street, 

Goodenow,  A.,  dry  goods  merchant,  134  lake  street, 

Gray,  John,  Chicago  hotel,  wolf  point, 

Hupp,  S.,  tailor  and  cutter,  210  lake  street, 

Hunter,  Edward,  deputy  sheriff,  wells  street, 

Hubbard  &  Co.,  forwarding  and  commission  merchants,  north  water  st. 

Hooker,  J.  W.,  grocery  and  provision  store,  152  lake  street, 

Hamilton,  R.  J.,  clerk  circuit  court,  clark  street, 

Hobbie  &  Clark,  dry  goods  merchants,  142  lake  street, 

Hanson,  J.  L.,  grocery  and  provision  store,  146  lake  street, 

Hodgson,  J.  H.,  tailor  and  clothier,  opposite  city  hotel,  clark  street, 

Hovey  &  Burbeck,  lake  street  market,  143  lake  street, 

Howe,  Miss,  milliner  and  mantuamaker,  corner  of  lake  and  wells  sts. 

Henson,  O.  C.,  hair  cutting  and  shaving  shop,  183  lake  street, 

Heymann,  F.  T.,  watchmaker  and  jeweller,  173  lake  street, 

Hallam,  Isaac  W.,  rector  St.  James'  church,  corner  cass  and  Illinois  sts. 

Howe,  F.,  clerk  Illinois  branch  state  bank,  lasalle  street, 

Howe,  F.  A.,  justice  of  the  peace,  97  lake  street, 

Harmon,  Loomis  &  Co.,  wholesale  grocers,  clark  and  south  water  sts. 

Holbrook,  J.,  clothing,  bed  and  mattress  store,  south  water  street, 

Holmes,  L.  W.,  hardware  and  stove  merchant,  south  water  street, 

Hall,  Henry  P.,  barbel',  north  water  street,  opposite  the  lake  house, 

Howe,  J.  L.,  city  bake  house,  north  water  street, 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS   DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  377 

Hoyne,  Thomas,  attorney  and  counsellor  at  law,  107  lake  street, 
Harmon,  Isaac  D.,  dry  goods  merchant,  clark  street,  near  the  river, 
Harmon,  William,  blacksmith,  north  water  street, 
Hunt,  B.  T.,  bed  and  mattress  store,  south  water  street, 
Huntoon,  G.  M.,  constable,  near  corner  of  dearborn  and  kinzie  streets, 
Higgins,  A.  D.,  merchant,  (Parish  &  Metcalf's)  132  lake  street, 
Hayward  &  Co.,  burr  mill  stone  manufactory,  kinzie  street, 
Johnson,  J.,  hair  cutting  and  shaving  shop,  131  lake  street, 
Jones,  William,  justice  of  the  peace,  dearborn  street, 
Judd,  N.  B.,  attorney,  exchange  buildings,  107  lake  street, 
King,  Ttithill,  New  York  clothing  store,  115  lake  street, 
King,  Willis,  lumber  merchant,  randolph  street, 
|    Kerchival,  L.,  inspector  of  the  port  of  Chicago, 

Kinzie  &  Hunter,  forwarding,  commission  merchants,  north  water  st. 

Kendall,  Vail  &  Co.,  clothing  store,  119  lake  street, 

Keogh,  P.  R.,  tailor  and  clothier,  clark  street, 

Killick,  James,  grocery  and  provision  store,  dearborn  street, 

Kimberly,  Dr.  E.,  residence,  north  water  street,  near  the  lake  house, 

Kent  &  Gilson,  livery  stable  keepers,  state  street, 

Leavenworth,  J.  H.,  overseer  public  works,  garrison, 

Lewis, merchant,  dearborn  street, 

Lewis,  A.  B.,  Sunday  school  agent,  lasalle  street, 

Lowe,  Samuel  J.,  high  constable,  clark  street,  near  methodist  church, 

Loyd,  A.,  carpenter  and  builder,  wells  street, 

Lincoln,  Solomon,  tailor  and  clothier,  156  lake  street, 

Lindebner,  J.,  tailor  and  outter,  lake  street, 

Learv,  A.  G.,  attorney  and  counsellor  at  law,  dearborn  street, 

Lill,  William,  brewer,  lake  shore,  north  side  of  the  river, 

Magie  &  Co.,  dry  goods  merchants,  130  lake  street, 

M'Donnell,  Charles,  grocery  and  provision  store,  market  street, 

M'Cracken  &  Brooks,  tailors  and  clothiers,  clark  street, 

M'Donnell,  Michael,  grocery,  north  water  street, 

Manierre  &  Blair,  merchant  tailors,  clark  street, 

Morris,  B.  S.,  alderman,  attorney  and  counsellor  at  law,  saloon  buildings, 

Montgomery,  G.  B.  S.,  merchant,  137  lake  street, 

Mills,  M.,  grocery  and  provision  store,  154  lake  street, 

Matthews,  P.,  dry  goods  merchant,  162  lake  street, 

Merrill,  George  W.,  dry  goods  merchant,  16.6  lake  street, 

Morrison,  John  H.,  grocery  store,  190  lake  street, 

Murray,  George,  tailor  and  clothier,  198  lake  street, 

Mooney,  Michael,  blacksmith,  franklin  street, 

Murray  &  Brand,  exchange  brokers,  189  lake  street, 

Massey,  I.  F.,  saddler  and  shoe  merchant,  175  lake  street, 

Morrison,  J.,  carpenter,  clark  street, 

Morrison,  Orsemus,  morrison's  row,  clark  street, 

Massey,  Mrs.,  milliner  and  dress  maker,  175  lake  street, 


378  CHICAGO  "AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

Malbucher,  L.,  grocery  and  provision  store,  167  lake  street, 

M'Combe,  Mrs.,  milliner  and  dress  maker,  165  lake  street, 

Marshall,  James  A.,  auctioneer,  commission  merchant,  south  water  street,, 

Mosely  &  M'Cord,  merchants,  south  water  street, 

Murphy,  J.,  United  States  hotel,  west  water  street, 

Morrison,  John  C.,  grocery  and  provision  store,  south  water  street, 

Mitchell,  John  B.,  boot  and  shoemaker,  south  water  street, 

Miltimore,  Ira,  steam  sash  factory,  south  branch  of  Chicago  river, 

Moore,  Henry,  attorney  and  counsellor  at  law,  dark  street, 

Marsh  &  Dole,  butchers,  dearborn  street, 

Merrick,  Dr.,  121  lake  street;  house  corner  state  and  ranclolph  streets, 

Manierre,  George,  attorney  and  counsellor  at  law,  105  lake  street, 

Meeker,  George  W.,  attorney  and  counsellor  at  law,  150  lake  street, 

Mylne  &  Morrison,  lumber  merchants,  south  water  street, 

Newberry  &  Dole,  forwarding,  commission  merchants,  north  water  st.- 

Norton  &  Co.,  H.,  grocers  and  provision  merchants,  south  water  street,. 

Nickalls,  Pateson,  livery  stable  keeper,  kinzie  street, 

Nicholson  &  Co.,  merchants,  north  water  street, 

Osbourn  &  Strail,  hardware,  stove,  iron  merchants,  124  lake  street, 

Otis  S.  T.  &  Co.,  stove,  iron  hardware  merchants,  dearborn  street, 

Osterhoudt,  L.  M.,  New  York  house,  180  lake  street, 

Osbourn,  William,  boot,  shoe  and  leather  merchant,  141  lake  street, 

Oliver,  John  A.,  house,  sign  and  ornamental  painter,  kinzie  street, 

Ogden,  William  B.  Esq.,  kinzie  street, 

Ogden,  M.  D.,  of  Arnold  &  Ogden,  attorneys,  dearborn  street, 

O'Brien,  George,  grocery  and  provision  store,  north  water  street, 

O'Connor,  Martin,  blacksmith,  randolph  street, 

Post,  Dr.,  residence  lake  street,  office  dearborn  street, 

Peck,  E.,  treasurer  canal  fund,  clark  street, 

Page,  Peter,  mason,  clark  street,  brick  building  above  randolph  street,. 

Paine  &  Norton,  dry  goods  merchants,  117  lake  street, 

Parsons  &  Holden,  grocery  and  provision  store,  market  street, 

Parish  &  Metcalf,  general  merchants,  132  lake  street, 

Peacock  &  Co.,  J.,  gunsmiths,  153  lake  street, 

Pearson,  Hiram,  grocer  and  dry  goods  merchant,  south  water  street, 

Periolat,  F.  A.,  grocery  and  provision  store,  126  lake  street, 

Pfund,  J.,  bread  and  biscuit  maker,  clark  street, 

Phillips,  Clifford  S.,  wholesale  dry  goods  merchant,  125  lake  street, 

Phillips,  John  F.,  tailor  and  clothier,  city  hotel  buildings,  clatk  street, 

Pond,  William,  watch  and  clock  maker,  183  lake  street, 

Prescott,  E.  S.,  receiver  land  office,  United  States,  175  lake  street, 

Price,  J.,  fire  warden,  south  water  street, 

Price,  Robert,  tnilor  and  clothier,  153  lake  street, 

Proctor,  Dr.,  dearborn  street,  below  lake  street, 

Randolph,  G.  F.,  wholesale  dry  goods  merchant,  109  lake  street, 

Rankin,  William  &  John,  brass  founders,  clark  street  and  Illinois  street*, 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS   DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  379 

Raymond,  B.  W.,  general  dry  goods  merchant,  122  lake  street, 

Reed,  C.  M.,  forwarding  and  commission  merchant,  south  water  st. 

Reed,  Mrs.,  cloak  and  dressmaker,  115  lake  street, 

Ross,  Hugh,  bookbinder  and  paper  ruler,  clark  street,  below  lake  st. 

Rossetter,  Asher,  mansion  house,  86  lake  street, 

Rucker,  Henry  L.,  alderman  and  justice  of  the  peace,  dearborn  street, 

Rudd,  Edward  H.,  job  and  book  printer,  saloon  buildings,  clark  street, 

Russell,  James,  city  hotel,  clark  street, 

Saltonstall,  W.  W.,  Hubbard  &  Co.'s  warehouse,  north  water  street, 

Sauter,  C.  &  J.,  boot  and  shoemakers,  212  lake  street, 

Sherman,  A.  S.,  mason,  west  of  the  south  branch  of  Chicago  river, 

Sherman,  E.  L.,  teller,  Illinois  branch  state  bank,  lasalle  street, 

Sherman  &  Pitkin,  general  dry  goods  merchants,  150  lake  street, 

Sherwood,  S.  J.,  watchmaker  and  jeweller,  144  lake  street, 

Shields,  Joseph,  watch  and  clock  repairer,  dearborn  street, 

Shollar,  A.,  grocery  and  provision  store,  200  lake  street, 

Smith,  Bradner,  carpenter,  wolcott  street, 

Smith,  Lisle,  city  attorney,  107  lake  street, 

Smith  &  Co.,  J.  A.,  hat  and  cap  manufacturers,  127  lake  street, 

Smith  &  Co.,  George,  exchange  brokers,  187  lake  street, 

Stanton  &  Black,  auctioneers,  commission  merchants,  85  lake  street, 

Stearns  &  Hallam,  fancy  dry  goods  merchants,  148  lake  street, 

Stoce  &  White,  blacksmiths,  corner  randolph  and  wells  streets, 

Stocking,  Rev.  Mr.,  pastor  metho.  church,  opposite  pub.  square,  clark   st. 

Stone,  H.  O.,  grocer  and  provision  merchant,  south  water  street, 

Strode,  J.  M.,  register  land  office,  saloon  buildings,  clark  street, 

Stuart,  W.,  publisher  and  editor  of  Chicago  American,  south  water  st. 

Sweet,  C.,  grocery  and  provision  store,  north  water  street, 

Storms,  A.,  carpenter  and  builder,  state  street, 

Sawyer,  S.,  druggist  and  apothecary,  dearborn  street, 

Shelley,  G.  E.,  lake  house,  north  water  street, 

Steele,  J.  W.,  city  refectory,  dearborn  street, 

Seymour,  Jesse,  sauganash  hotel,  market  street, 

Sweetser,  J.  Oldharn,  surgeon  dentist,  rush  street,  opposite  lake  house, 

Stuart,  Dr.  J.  Jay,  rush  street  opposite  the  lake  house 

Scammon,  J.  Young,  attorney  and  counsellor  at  law,  107  lake  street 

Spring,  Giles,  attorney  and  counsellor  at  law,  107  lake  street 

Snow,  G.  W.  &  Co.,  lumber  merchants,  south  water  street 

Sherman,  F.  C.,  contractor  and  builder,  clark  street 

Tuttle,  Nelson,  stage  agent,  180  lake  street 

Taylor,  Daniel,  boot  and  shoe  maker,  120  lake  street 

Thompson,  O.  H.,  grocer  and  dry  goods  merchant,  south  water  street 

Tucker,  William,  cooper,  south  water  street 

Tripp, ,  carpenter,  clark  street,  next  the  methoclist  church 

Taylor,  Francis  H.,  tailor,  wolf  point 

Updike  &  M'Clure,  carpenters  and  builders,  dearborn  street 


380  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS, 

Van  Osdell,  John,  contractor  and  builder,  corn,  wolcott  and  kinzie  sts. 

Vaughan,  William,  clothes  broker,  159  lake  street 

Villiard,  L.  N.,  grocery  and  provision  store,  187  lake  street 

Woodworth,  R.  &  J.,  wholesale  dry  goods  merchants,  103  lake  street 

Wheeler,  William,  tin,  sheet-iron  and  copper  smith,  145  lake  street 

Wright,  John  S.,  forwarding,  commission  merchant,  north  water  st. 

Weir,  John  B.,  cabinet  and  chair  maker,  188  lake  street 

White,  George,  city  crier,  market  street,  or  at  Stanton  &  Black's 

Wilman,  Andrew,  blacksmith,  randolph  street,  opposite  public  square 

VVhitlock,  Thomas,  boot  and  shoe  maker,  102  lake  street 

Whiting,  W.  L.,  produce  and  commission  merchant,  Hubbard's  store 

Wentworth,  J.,  editor  and  publisher  of  Chicago  Democrat,  107  lake  st. 

Wolcott,  Henry,  private  boarding  house,  corner  kinzie  and  wolcott  sts. 

Wadsworth, Julius,  agent  for  the  Hartford  insurance  Co.,  105  lake  st. 

Warner,  Seth,  merchant,  south  water  street 

White,  Alexander,  house,  sign  and  ornamental  painter,  north  water  st. 

Wicker,  J.  H.,  grocery  and  provision  store,  87  lake  street 

Walton,  N.  C.,  grocery  and  provision  store,  north  water  street 

Walker  &  Co.,  grocer  and  provision  merchant,  south  water  street 

Williams,  Eli  B.,  recorder,  dark  street;  store  south  water  street 

Wait,  H.  M.,  grocery  and  provision  store,  lake  street 

Wandell,  John,  great  Western,  152^-  lake  street 

Wheeler,  W.  F.,  dry  goods  merchant,  107  lake  street 

Williams,  J.,  hair  cutting  and  shaving  shop,  90  lake  street 

Wells,  H.  G.,  grocery  and  provision  store,  101  lake  street 

Yates,  H.  H.,  grocery  and  provision  store,  dark  street 

CHURCHES    OF    THE    CITY. 

Baptist  Church,  La  Salle,  above  randolph  street;  I.  T.  Hinton,  elder, 
Episcopal  Church,  Cass  street,  opposite  Kinzie  Square, 
Presbyterian  Church,  west  side  of  Clark  street,  above  the  pub.  square4 
Methodist  Church,  east  side  of  Clark  street,  above  randolph, 
Roman  Catholic  Church,  Corner  of  Lake  and  State  street, 
First  Unitarian  Society,  Rev.  Mr.  Harrington,  Saloon  Buildings. 

A  number  of  omissions  will  probably  be  found  in  the  foregol.ig- 
directory,  in  consequence  of  the  difficulty  in  procuring  a  suitable  person 
to  collect  names  and  residences  for  it;  but  it  is  the  intention  of  the  pub- 
lisheiyas  soon  as  circumstances  will  permit,  to  issue  another  edition,  enlarged 
and  otherwise  improved. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 


GRAIN    ELEVATORS. 

Not  the  least  interesting  feature  of  Chicago's  wonderful  entirety  are 
her  mammoth  grain  elevators,  standing  out  upon  the  picture  of  the  city, 
like  huge  frowning  mountains  in  the  midst  of  a  beautiful  plain.  Doubt- 
less there  are  very  many  people  who  never  saw  one  of  these  immense 
structures,  which  always  look  as  solemn  and  somber  as  a  tomb,  and  to 
such  the  contrast  they  would  form  with  other  and  more  pretentious 
architecture  would  be  of  the  most  marked  character.  In  the  center  of 
the  Southern  Division  the  visitor  beholds  the  Custom  House  and  Postoffice, 
massive  in  proportions,  if  not  very  graceful  in  design,  always  suggesting 
that  the  architect  intended  tto  build  a  tomb  that  would  be  high  enough 
to  walk  in  without  stooping,  but  modest  enough  in  appearance  to  satisfy 
those  who  were  so  fastidious  that  they  would  prefer  ugliness  to  show. 
Opposite,  the  Grand  Pacific  Hotel  presenting  its  handsome  architecture 
and  cheerful  fronts,  attracts  his  attention.  Through  the  streets  he  strolls, 
the  eye  pleased  with  buildings  of  varied  patterns,  but  artistic  grace,  from 
the  comparatively  modest  three-story  to  that  which  climbs  heavenward  six 
or  seven  stories,  and  from  the  light  and  airy  to  the  huge  Palmer  House, 
which  proclaims  from  every  part  of  it  that  it  was  built  to  stand  the  assault 
of  storm  or  flame.  Wandering  on,  he  confesses  to  himself,  if  not  to  his 
companions,  that  he  has  seen  the  largest  and  most  wonderful  buildings  in 
the  world.  But  the  greatest  building  curiosity  is  yet  in  reserve,  and  he 
finds  it  revealed  when  reaching  the  river  or  some  of  our  railroad  tracks. 
Then  looms  up  before  him  a  pile  of  material,  which  seems  to  have  grown 
until  tired  of  growing,  and  with  diminished  energy  capped  its  growth 
with  an  additional  building,  or  something  similar  to  itself  on  top,  where 
thoroughly  exhausted,  it  paused.  There  it  stands,  grim,  bleak,  forbidding. 
That  is  a  Chicago  grain  elevator^  into  which,  probably,  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands of  bushels  of  grain  are  annually  received,  and  from  which  the  same 
quantity  is  annually  discharged.  Fifty  to  a  hundred  thousand  bushels 
per  day  is  not  an  extraordinary  shipment  at  a  single  elevator,  and  as 
receiving  and  shipping  goes  steadily  on  from  one  year's  end  to  another, 
the  enormous  aggregate  of  the  grain  trade  in  Chicago  can  be  easily 
imagined,  without  counting  the  figures  which  appear  in  other  portions  of 
this  book. 

Much  fault  has  been  found  in  the  past  by  producers  and  shippers  with 
reference  to  what  are  called  "terminal  charges,"  in  which  elevator  charges 


382  CHICAGO  AND  ITS   DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

are  included.  The  elevators  are  closely  allied  with  the  railroads,  but  are* 
not  subject  to  the  control  of  the  State  as  railroads  are.  It  is  within  the 
power  of  the  legislature  to  regulate  the  charges  made  by  railroad  corpora- 
tions, but  elevators  being  entirely  private  enterprises  —  although  in 
conjunction  with  the  railroads  forming  something  of  a  monopoly — they 
are  beyond  legislative  control.  Some  years  ago,  THE  WESTERN  RURAL, 
published  at  Chicago,  took  up  the  matter,  and  urged  the  building  of 
elevators  which  should  be  operated  under  independent  management,  and 
in  the  interest  of  producers  and  shippers,  but  amidst  the  numerous  reforms 
which  that  active  and  influential  journal  has  been  advocating  during  the 
last  few  years,  the  agitation  of  elevator  reform  has  been  dropped,  for 
the  time  being  at  least. 

The  history  of  the  grain  elevator  business  will  be  interesting  to  the 
reader,  whether  a  resident  of  the  city  or  not.  If  a  Chicagoan,  he  will  be 
interested  because  the  grain  trade  has  been  the  great  business  that  has 
built  up  his  city  and  made  it  what  it  is.  Among  all  the  enterprises  which 
have  thrived  here,  no  single  one  has  done  as  much  for  Chicago  as  the 
traffic  in  grain  has  done.  If  the  reader  should  happen  to  have  less  interest 
in  the  City  of  the  West  than  one  of  its  own  residents  would  have,  he 
will  still  be  interested  in  reading  of  the  great  structures  which  hold  so 
lai'ge  a  portion  of  the  grain  grown  in  this  great  West. 

Through  Kingsley  R.  Olmsted,  an  old  resident,  we  have  been 
enabled  to  secure  from  L.  S.  Baker  the  following  concerning  the  elevators 
of  Chicago.  Mr.  Baker  says:  In  the  year  1848  I  effected  a  permanent 
residence  in  Chicago.  The  grain  interests  up  to  this  date  were  somewhat 
limited,  and  dependent  for  power  upon  the  old-fashioned  horse-power, 
and  other  simple  mechanical  movements,  either  supplied  at  the  top  or 
bottom  of  buildings.  In  this  same  year  the  first  introduction  of  steam- 
power  took  place,  the  first  firm  using  it  being  R.  C.  Bristol  &  Company,  who 
built  and  operated  the  first  steam  propelled  brick  elevator  in  this  city.  The 
site  was  Market  street,  between  Randolph  and  Lake  streets;  it  had  a 
river  frontage,  and  adjoining  it  was  another  storage  house  of  frame  con- 
struction, owned  by  the  same  firm.  The  brick  structure  had  a  capacity  of 
one  hundred  thousand  bushels,  an  immense  capacity  in  those  days.  The 
frame  structure  had  a  capacity  of  seventy- five  thousand  bushels,  and  after 
the  building  of  the  steam  elevator  it  received  power  from  the  former. 
The  brick  structure  being  crowded  beyond  its  capacity,  collapsed,  or  at 
least  the  eastern  wall  and  contents  fell  into  the  street  one  fine  day  at  eleven 
o'clock,  and  as  Market  street  at  that  date  was  a  principal  thoroughfare,  it 
was  almost  a  miracle  that  many  people  were  not  buried  beneath  the  ruins. 
However,  none  were  even  injured,  although  the  writer,  witnessing  the 
scene,  beheld  a  laborer  in  the  elevator  riding  out  on  top  of  the  column  of 
wheat,  but  landing  safely  in  the  street  Truly  that  Irishman  had  a  "lofty" 
ride.  The  building  was  repaired  soon  after,  and  resumed  operations.  The 
frame  structure  referred  to,  was  destroyed  by  fire  several  years  later. 

At  this   date — 1848 — there   were   about   ten  principal  elevators   and 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  383 

principal  storage  houses  for  grain,  the  most  prominent  being  the  elevator 
of  Bristol  &  Company,  heretofore  mentioned,  and  also  in  the  order  of  their 
capacity  the  following: 

Orrington  Lunt's  "White"  elevator;  capacity  about  sixty  thousand 
bushels;  building  frame;  site,  corner  of  Lake  and  Sout.h  Water  streets, 
opposite  what  was  known  as  the  Sauganash  House,  a  principal  hostelry 
in  those  days;  power,  horse. 

Neeley  &  Lawrence's  elevator;  capacity  fifty  thousand  bushels;  site, 
South  Water  street  west  of  Wells  street,  now  Fifth  avenue;  power,  horse; 
building,  frame. 

George  A.  Gibbs'  elevator;  capacity  forty  thousand  bushels;  building 
frame;  site,  South  Water  street,  east  of  State  street;  power,  horse. 

Charles  Walker's  elevator;  capacity  about  fifty-five  thousand  bushels; 
building  frame;  site,  South  Water  street  between  Clark  and  Dearborn 
streets;  power,  horse. 

James  Peck's  elevator;  capacity  forty  thousand  bushels ;  building  frame ; 
site  adjoining  Walker's.  This  was  the  next  steam  power  elevator  built. 

Thomas  Richmond  and  several  others  also  had  storage  houses  of  greater 
or  less  capacity,  situated  either  on  the  south  or  north  sides  of  the  river. 

A  few  of  these  elevators  were  supplied  with  corn  shellers,  for  ear 
corn  was  a  staple  in  those  days.  The  Bristol  elevator  was  the  first  to 
introduce  the  present  system  of  loading  vessels  by  means  of  spouts  or 
chutes,  and  the  steam  ear  corn  conveyor  for  the  purpose  of  unloading 
ear  corn  from  canal  boats. 

In  those  primitive  days  the  loading  of  vessels  was  principally  done 
by  means  of  carts,  which  had  a  capacity  of  from  fifteen  to  twenty-five 
bushels,  and  were  propelled  by  hand-power  over  a  staging,  and  the  con- 
tents dumped  into  the  hold.  The  largest  vessels  then  had  a  capacity  of 
ten  thousand  bushels,  and  to  load  one  of  these  crafts  was  considered  a 
great  day's  work.  The  system  of  unloading  ear  corn  was  much  more 
improved.  A  conveyor  was  lowered  into  the  hold  of  the  canal  boat  and 
extended  thence  at  a  slight  horizontal  angle  into  the  elevator.  The  ear 
corn  being  shoveled  onto  this  conveyor  by  three  men  or  more,  as  demanded, 
was  conveyed  into  the  house,  dropping  from  the  conveyor  into  the  sheller, 
the  shelled  corn  and  cobs  then  falling  through  the  floor  into  the  basement 
beneath — the  cobs  being  used  for  fuel — the  corn  passing  into  the  cleaner, 
which  was  an  ordinary  fanning-mill,  and  thence  by  means  of  the  elevator 
to  the  top  of  the  building,  where  being  weighed  it  was  dropped  into  its 
appropriate  bin.  The  buckets  used  for  -conveying  the  grain  up  the 
elevator  held  about  two  quarts  of  grain. 

The  power  in  many  elevators  was  supplied  by  teams  of  mules  and 
horses,  which  were  kept  over  night  or  stabled  at  the  tops  of  these  build- 
ings. It  may  be  worth  while  to  mention  that  on  one  occasion  the  writer 
remembers  the  enterprising  feat  of  a  mule  team,  which  journeyed  from 
the  top  to  the  bottom  of  one  elevator  in  the  night  and  safely  arrived  by 
means  of  the  stairway  upon  the  lower  main  floor. 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 


Later  on  such  firms  as  George  Steele  &  Company,  Gibbs  &  Griffin 
and  R.  P.  Burlingame  &  Sturges  built  and  operated  elevators  of  greater  or 
less  capacity. 

Steele's  elevator  was  situated  on  the  North  Side,  near  the  foot  of 
North  Market  street,  and  had  a  capacity  of  about  one  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  bushels. 

George  Steele's  elevator  was  subsequently  burned  down,  and  Munger 
&  Armour  rebuilt  upon  this  site. 

Gibbs  &  Griffin  built  and  operated  an  elevator  for  the  unloading  of 
grain  cars  for  the  old  Galena  &  Chicago  Union  railway;  it  had  a  capacity 
of  about  four  hundred  thousand  bushels;  it  adjoined  Steele's  elevator. 

R.  P.  Burlingame  &  Sturges'  elevator  was  situated  near  the  foot  of 
North  State  street,  its  capacity  being  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
bushels. 

The  following  will  show  when  the  elevators  in  Chicago  were  built, 
their  capacity  when  built,  and  by  whom  they  were  owned : 


OWNERS. 

When 
built. 

Capacity, 

R.  P.  Burlingame  

1852-3 

100  coo 

Flint  &  Wheeler  

18^ 

250  coo 

«•             Elevator  A  

18^-6 

7  co  ooo 

«                     «        B  

1862-7 

i  250  coo 

Munger  &  Armour  

iS^-6 

400  ooo 

Gibbs  Griffin  &  Company  

iSqq-6 

300  coo 

Galena  

18156 

500  ooo 

Sturges  &  Buckingham,  Elevator  A  

i8<cS 

I  OOO  COO 

1860 

i  500  ooo 

Armour  Dole  &  Company.       '      A  

1  860-  1 

I  2OO  OOO 

1867 

800  ooo 

«                                '       C  

1  8?  V4. 

I    ^OO  OOO 

«                                  '       D  

1870 

i  800  ooo 

Vincent,  Nelson  &  Company  

1866 

i  So  ooo 

R.  M.  &  O.  S.  Hough  

1872 

I  OOO  OOO 

Steele  &  Taylor  

186-? 

I  OOO  OOO 

Munn,  Gill  &  Company  

i8s6 

I*7C  OOO 

Northwestern  

1861-2 

500  ooo 

Union     

1  860-  1 

A.  E.  Neeley  .          

1874.-; 

700  ooo 

Finley  &  Ballard  

1864 

I7r  OOO 

I.  F.  Armour  

1876 

Munger,  Wheeler  &  Company  

1880 

i  t;oo  ooo 

M 

1880 

750  ooo 

L.  Newbury  &  Company  in  1861  converted  a  store  warehouse  into 
an  elevator,  but  it  was  burned  in  1872,  and  never  rebuilt. 

Of  the  elevator  firms,  that  of  Munger,  Wheeler  &  Company  is  among 
the  oldest,  best  known  and  best  thought  of  by  their  patrons,  the  public  at 
large  and  especially  their  employes,  who  never  tire  of  telling  of  the  kind- 
ness of  heart  which  actuates  these  gentlemen  in  their  conduct  toward 
those  employed  by  them.  An  inquiry,  not  long  since,  of  one  of  the  men 
long  employed  by  them,  as  to  their  treatment  ef  those  under  them,  elicited 
the  enthusiastic  reply:  "Best  men  in  the  world,  sir;  why,  do  you  know 
that  I  have  known  the  firm  to  provide  a  man  who  was  fatally  injured  in 
their  service,  four  days  after  entering  it,  with  medical  attendance  while  he 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS   DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  385 

lived,  and  paid  the  expenses  of  burial  when  he  died.  Indeed,  sir,  for  four 
months  they  paid  that  man's  expenses,  and  his  wages  besides,  and  they 
have  always  borne  the  funeral  expenses  of  the  men  who  died  in  their  ser- 
vice. After  the  great  fire,  sir — although  most  of  their  property  was 
consumed — they  paid  their  men  a  half  month's  salary,  although  there 
was  due  but  seven  days'  pay.  They  are  excellent  men,  sir,  and  from  long 
experience  in  their  service,  I  know  whereof  I  affirm." 

In  these  days  of  selfishness  and  haste,  when  the  principle  of  human 
conduct  seems  to  be  the  old  one  intensified :  "Every  one  for  himself  and 
the  devil  take  the  hindmost,"  it  was  certainly  cheering  to  find  men  thus 
highly  eulogized  by  one  of  the  great  class  which  too  often  has  just  grounds 
of  complaint  against  employers.  Finding  this  man,  who  was  so  ready  to 
accord  merit  where  it  belonged,  exceedingly  intelligent  and  an  old  citizen 
withal,  we  drew  him  still  further  into  conversation,  and  asked  him  if  he 
could  not  relate  some  interesting  incidents  in  his  experience.  He  answered 
affirmatively  and  began  with  what  he  pronounced  "the  most  remarkable 
dog  story  ever  told,"  and  candor  compels  us  to  confess  that  it  was  con- 
siderable of  a  tale.  Said  he:  "When  I  was  at  the  Hiram  Wheeler  House, 
the  drip  pipes  that  carried  the  water  from  the  roof,  bursted,  and  Charles 
McGee,  then  a  manufacturer  of  grain  buckets  and  worker  in  tin,  was 
called  to  repair  the  damage.  McGee  had  a  very  fine  specimen  of  the 
black  and  tan  dog,  which  was  one  of  the  best  'ratters'  ever  seen  in  Chicago 
and  the  animal  usually  followed  its  owner  wherever  he  went.  On  this 
occasion  McGee  was  compelled  to  lower  himself  by  means  of  a  rope  from 
the  roof  to  the  place  where  the  repairs  were  to  be  made.  Fastening  the 
rope  to  a  timber  he  threw  the  loose  end  over  the  wall,  which  was  seen 
and  believed  by  the  sharp-eyed  canine  to  be  a  rat  leaping  over  the  edge. 
To  'think'  was  to  act,  and  the  dog  sprang  after  the  imaginary  rat,  going 
over  the  wall,  and  down  seventy  feet  to  the  ground,  fortunately  striking 
upon  a  heap  of  decomposed  wheat.  For  an  instant  the  breath  was  entirely 
knocked  out  of  the  animal,  but  quickly  recovering,  it  jumped  up  and 
began  to  search  for  the  supposed  rat. 

"But  the  most  amusing  incident  that  I  remember,"  continued  our  friend, 
"was  the  feat  of  a  horse  climbing  onto  a  platform  five  and  a  half  feet  high. 
It  happened  at  the  Iowa  elevator,  and  in  this  way:  At  this  elevator  there 
was  but  one  railroad  track  used  for  loading  and  unloading,  and  this 
ran  through  the  center  of  the  house.  The  cars  were  backed  in  on  this  track 
by  a  locomotive,  and  drawn  out  by  horses.  On  the  occasion  referred  to  a 
man  and  his  horse  had  entered  for  the  purpose  of  taking  out  some  empty 
cars.  While  getting  ready  to  perform  the  duty,  a  train  was  discovered 
backing  swiftly  in.  There  were  the  man  and  horse  upon  the  track,  fenced 
in  on  either  side  by  the  high  platform,  and  the  only  thing  to  be  done  by 
the  man  was  to  get  upon  the  platform,  and  leave  the  horse  to  his  fate. 
Instantly  the  man  leaped  into  safety,  but  the  horse  had  no  idea  of  being 
mangled  to  death  then  and  there,  and  looking  at  the  coming  train,  and 
then  at  the  man  on  the  platform,  the  intelligent  brute  concluded  to  follow 


386  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

in  the  footsteps  of  his  master,  which  he  did,  and  jumping  upon   the  plat- 
form, or  rather  clambering  vipon  it,  was  saved." 

The  old  elevator  man  was  full  of  stories,  but  space  will  scarcely 
admit  of  the  publication  of  more.  Like  all  the  men  who  have  seen  Chi- 
cago develop  from  nothing  into  its  present  greatness,  and  who  have  been 
actively  engaged  in  some  one  or  more  of  the  vast  enterprises  which  have 
made  the  city  great  and  renowned,  he  never  tires  of  telling  what  was, 
and  instituting  comparisons  of  the  earlier  with  the  later  days. 


3*7 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 


EARLY    SETTLERS. 

It  will  be  many  years  before  the  list  of  the  early  settlers  of  Chicago 
will  not  be  examined  with  the  deepest  interest.  Some  of  those  who  con- 
tributed to  the  early  growth  of  the  renowned  city,  have  no  other  claims 
to  fame  than  that  they  came  when  brave  men  were  most  needed,  and 
amidst  privation  and  hardship  performed  their  part  in  laying  the  founda- 
tion of  the  great  Chicago.  Many  when  they  came  here  never  expected 
or  desired  that  their  names  should  ever  be  chiseled  upon  a  monument  or 
written  upon  the  page  of  history.  Their  lives  were  unostentatious,  but 
a  beautiful  picture  of  fidelity  to  duty;  and  while  other  lives  were  flash- 
ing like  the  sun  at  mid-day,  theirs  were  as  subdued  as  the  light  of  the 
most  modest  star  that  glitters  in  the  evening  sky.  Yet  such  men  left  their 
impress  upon  the  character  of  our  city,  and  footprints  on  the  sands,  which 
the  speeding  years  have  never  effaced.  A  few  of  these  modestly  gleam- 
ing lights  have  not  yet  gone  out,  but  burn  with  charming  sweetness  upon 
the  boundary  line  between  the  present  and  the  past.  To  those  who  knew 
Chicago  in  her  cradle,  these  quiet,  faithful  lives  are  full  of  interest,  and 
for  those  who  have  come  to  sit  in  the  midst  of  the  splendor  which  they 
assisted  in  creating,  they  possess  a  charm  that  is  irresistible  and  grand. 

Many  of  the  names  which  will  be  found  in  the  honored  roll  are 
familiar  not  only  to  all  of  our  own  people  but  to  the  entire  civilized  world, 
as  those  of  men  who  have  been  daring,  faithful  and  brilliant  in  the  dis- 
charge of  duty  in  the  varied  spheres  of  human  action.  No  other  community 
of  its  age  has  furnished  so  many  really  great  men  and  massive  intellects 
as  Chicago.  Her  mind  has  been  felt  not  only  upon  the  progress  of  the 
nation  but  indeed  upon  the  destinies  of  the  world.  Her  statesmen,  human- 
itarians, and  commercial  representatives  have  opened  up  new  paths  of 
progress,  and  smoothed  and  beautified  the  old;  and  in  the  following  list 
will  be  found  representatives  of  all  the  distinguished  merit  we  have 
mentioned.  It  will  scarcely  be  necessary  to  say  that  the  difficulties  attending 
the  compilation  of  the  names  of  early  settlers  will  readily  suggest  the  almost 
impossibility  of  having  it  contain  the  name  of  every  one  who  is  entitled 
to  the  distinguished  position  of  being  an  earlier  settler.  Copying  a  list 
prepared  by  A.  S.  Hubbard,  and  adding  to  it,  besides  filling  in  with  some 
additional  details,  it  is  believed  that  the  list  is  very  nearly  complete.  If  any 
name  properly  belonging  in  it,  is  not  found  there,  it  scarcely  need  be  said 
that  the  omission  has  not  been  intentional. 


388 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS, 


NAMES. 

NATIVITY. 

REMARKS. 

Wm   H    Brown  7  

Conn. 

Lemuel  Brovven  
S    S   Brown   

Mass. 
Ohio 

N    T   Brown           .              .  .  .  . 

New  York 

Arthur  G  Burley  

N.  H. 

Augustus  H.  Burley  

Alderman  iSSo. 

Erastus  Bowen  

Wales 

Candidate  for  Assessor  1837 

Teduthan  Brown   

New  York 

*j/ 

E  C    Brackett  

Member  of  first  Engine  Company 

N.  Boilvin   

New  York 

Street  Commissioner  1833 

Charles  Beaubien  ....    

Michigan 

Alexander  Beaubien.   ....... 

Stephen  N  Beaubien 

J  B   Beaubien                   .  . 

Ambrose  Burnham  

City  Marshal  1850. 

C  A.  Ballard     

Mark  Beaubien,  Sr  

Michigan 

Mark  Beaubien,  Jr  

Rev.  Stephen  T.  Badin  

France 

First  Catholic  priest 

Israel  P.  Blodgett  

Mass. 

Tyler  K.  Blodgett  

\Villiam  Bond. 

Ezra  Bond  

Lyman  Butterfield 

Jesse  B.  Brown  

John  Bosley  

Penn. 

Rev.  J.  M.  I.  Cyrst  

France 

Second  Catholic  priest. 

Isaac  Cook  

New  Jersey 

Sheriff  1846;  Post  Master  1854. 

James  Clark  

New  York 

Benjamin  Carver  

David  Caiwer  

(I 

Edward  W.  Casev  

« 

Town  Attorney  i8"U. 

Ira  H.  Couch  

New  York 

James  B.  Carter.    . 

John  P.  Chapin  

N.  H. 

Mayor  1846. 

John  Casey  

Ireland 

Peter  Casey  

a 

Patrick  Casey  

u 

Edward  Casev  

(( 

Thomas  Carrig  

(i 

James  Campbell  

Penn. 

Abel  E.  Carpenter  

Mass. 

Philo  Carpenter  

u 

John  Dean  Caton  

New  York 

Ex-Chief  Justice  of  Illinois. 

W.  P.  Caton  

George  Chackfield  

England 

John  K.  Clark  

Virginia 

Coroner  1831. 

L.J.Clark  

Vermont 

Norman  Clark  

u 

Timothy  B.  Clark  

New  York 

First  Road  Viewer. 

William  H.Clark  

Mass. 

Henry  A.Clark  

New  York 

Henry  B.  Clark  

u 

M.  B.  Clancy  

Charles  Cleaver  

England 

F.  G.  Conner  

New  York 

Ira  Couch  

u 

William  Corrigan  

Ireland 

James  Couch  

New  York 

James  H.  Collins  

.« 

Silas  B.  Cobb  

Vermont 

Peter  Cohen  

France 

Addison  Collins  

CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 


NAMES. 

NATIVITY. 

REMARKS. 

Sidney  Abel     

Penn. 

Post  Master  1840 

W.  H.  Adams  

New  York 

Alderman  1849. 

John  Allen  

(i 

Thomas  Allen  

it 

Nathan  Allen  

M 

County  Commissioner  1836 

Wm.  Armstrong  

W.  Indies 

Cyrus  P.  Albee  

Vermont 

Geo.  Armour  

England 

Isaac  N.  Arnold  

New  York 

First  City  Clerk  and  Member  Congress. 

Thomas  Avers         . 

Jonathan  A.  Bailey  

Vermont 

First  Assistant  Post  Master. 

M.  Baines 

Fire  Warden  1836. 

Perus  Barney  

New  York 

Hamilton  Barnes  

M 

Alderman  1842. 

Amos  Bailey  

Vermont 

County  Surveyor  1836. 

Bennett  Bailev  

Maryland 

Wm.  A.  Baldwin  

New  York 

H.  G.  Bailey  

Rev.  Flavel  Bascom  

Conn. 

Joseph  N.  Balestier  

Vermont 

Patrick  Ballingall  

Scotland 

A.  S.  Bates  

New  York 

City  Undertaker. 

John  Bates  

Stephen  Bates  

H 

P.  Baumgarden  

Germany 

George  Beaumont  

Conn. 

Cyrenius  Beers  

Alderman  1843. 

Samuel  C.  Bennett  

New  York 

School  teacher. 

Benj.  A.  Berry  

Ohio 

First  hardware  merchant 

Thomas  Berry  

Germany 

Dr.  J.  T.  Betts  

Illinois 

James  E.  Bishop  

New  York 

Thomas  Bishop  ....    

it 

Francis  G.  Blanchard  

England 

Rev.  F.  W.  Blatchford  

New  York 

E.  W.  Blatchford  

M 

Francis  Blake.    .  .  . 

S.Sanford  Blake  

Vermont 

Nathan  H.  Bolles  

New  York 

Delegate  to  draw  up  City  Charter. 

Peter  Bolles  

« 

Alderman  1837. 

Heman  Bond  

N.  H. 

Daniel  L.  Boone  

Kentucky 

Levi  D.  Boone  

" 

Ex-Mayor. 

Thomas  Brown  

New  York 

Alexander  Brand  

Scotland 

Charles  B.  Brown  

Illinois 

S.  Lock  wood  Brown  

« 

Jabez  K.  Botsford  

Conn. 

Erastus  S.  Bowen  

New  York 

Drove  first  U.  S.  mail  stage  into  Chicago. 

James  A.  Boyer  

Penn. 

John  K.  Boyer  

« 

Street  Commissioner  1835. 

Dr.  V.  A.  Boyer  

11 

Asa  F.  Bradley.    . 

N.  H. 

David  Bradley  

New  York 

S.  S.  Bradley  

N.  H. 

James  B.  Brad  well  

England 

Ex-Probate  Judge. 

Frederick  A.  Brvan  

" 

Dr.  Daniel  Brainard  

New  York 

Thomas  Brock 

Candidate  for  Alderman,  1837. 

Henry  Brookes  

England 

Samuel  L.  Brookes  

" 

Henry  Brown  

New  York 

Author  History  of  Illinois. 

Rufus  Brown  

A.  J.  Brown.  ..  . 

New  York 

Alderman  1852. 

39° 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 


NAMES. 

NATIVITY. 

REMARKS. 

W    L  Church   

New  York 

Sheriff  1850. 

Candidate  for  Mayor. 
Founder  CHICAGO  DEMOCRAT. 
Candidate  High  Constable  1837. 
Mayor  1847. 

Judge  election  1837. 

Alderman  1844. 
Founder  CHICAGO  AMERICAN. 

Judge  Superior  Court  1845. 

Town  Treasurer  1835,  and  Post  Master  1851 
United  States  Judge. 

Probate  Judge  1837. 
Mayor  1856. 

Ex-City  Constable. 

State  Senator. 
President  Board  of  Trade. 

Alderman  1842. 

Ex-County  Agent. 
Candidate  for  Assessor  1837. 

First  Baptist  Clergyman. 

First  County  Sheriff. 
Alderman  1841. 

S.  D.  Child  

Thomas  Church  

New  York 
u 

u 
U 
H 
(1 
K 
U 

R.I. 

England 
Penn. 
New  York 
England 
New  York 
11 

Penn. 
u 

Vermont 
New  York 

u 

Maine 
New  York 
Vermont 
Conn. 

11 

John  Calhoun    

Hans  Crocker  

David  Cox       

Charles  H   Chapman  

Thomas  O  Davis  

George  M  Davis       

William  H   Davis 

Eleazer  W  Densmore  

John  Davis     

Hugh  T  Dickey  

W  S  Dodson  

C.  B  Dodson     

J.  Seymour  Dodge  

George  W.  Dole  

William  Doyle  

Thomas  Drummond  

Thomas  T.  Durant  

Dr.  Charles  V.  Dyer  

Thomas  Dyer  

Clarence  H.  Dyer  

John  Dye 

Nathan  Dye  

New  York 
Conn. 

11 

Penn. 

Philip  Dean  

John  Dean  

Samuel  Debait  

Samuel  Ellis 

Ira  B.  Eddy  

Mass. 
Ireland 
New  York 
Illinois 
England 

Dr.  W.  B.  Egan  

Wilev  M.  Egan  

Daniel  T.  Elston  

Daniel  Elston  

Joel  Ellis 

Dr.  J.  W.  Eldridge  

New  York 
Mass. 
Ireland 
New  York 
Conn. 

11 

u 

Michigan 
Mass. 
New  York 
Penn. 

Vermont 

11 

New  York 

Illinois 
Vermont 
Mass. 
Maine 
Conn. 

Benjamin  Emerson  

Peter  F.  Flood  

P.  H.  Flood  

David  P.  Foot  

John  Foot  

Star  Foot  

William  Forsyth  

Charles  Follansbee  

L.  C.  Paine  Freer  

Robert  Freeman  

Rev.  A.  B.  Freeman  

Alexander  N.  Fullerton.. 

Martin  M.  Ford  

David  M.  Ford  

Elisha  M.  Ford  

S.  V.R.Forbes  

Alanson  Foilansbee  

George  F.  Foster  

Dr.J.  H.Foster  

J.  T-  Garland  

Alvin  N.  Gardner. 

Mass. 

Abram  Gale.  .  . 

William  H.  Gale 

CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 


39 i 


NAMES. 

NATIVITY. 

REMARKS. 

Edwin  O  Gale  

Mass. 
N.  H. 

New  York 

« 

N.  H. 

Canada 
New  York 
Ohio 
England 
New  York 
(i 

Canada 
Indiana 
New  York 

Mass. 
New  York 

N.  H. 
New  York 

u 

N.  C. 
New  York 

u 

Mayor  1845. 
Alderman  1840. 

Sheriff  1838. 
Publisher  WESTERN  RURAL. 

Ex-Judge. 
Alderman  1837. 

Mayor  1853. 
Alderman  1845. 

Town  Trustee  1834. 
Wood  Inspector  1835. 

First  Episcopal  Minister. 
County  Treasurer  1834. 

Candidate  for  Assessor  1837. 
County  'Clerk  1831  to  1837. 

Mayor  1858. 
Alderman  1838. 

County  Treasurer  1851. 

Stephen  F  Gale     

Augustus  Garrett  

John  Gage.       

Tared  Gage  

S  T  Gage  

S  C   George              

Milton  George     

Samuel  H.  Gilbert  

T  W  Goodrich  

Dr  T   C   Goodhue  

\Villiam  C  Goudy  

George  M   Gray  

Charles  M  Gray  

Joseph  H.  Gray  

W  L  Grey            

Peter  Graft"         

Elihu  Granger  

Loren  Graves  

Dexter  Graves               

James  Grant           

Amos  Grannis   

Samuel  J.  Grannis  

Samuel  \V  Grannis  

New  York 

u 
u 
(( 

11 

Vermont 

Henry  F.  Grannis  

Charles  D.  Grannis  

Capt.  Russell  Green  

Albert  H.  Guild  

Jason  Gurley  .        

Isaac  Haight  

New  York 
Illinois 
England 

Ed.  B.  Hall  

Joseph  L.  Hanson  

Oliver  C.  Hanson  

S.  Domingo 
New  York 
Vermont 
u 
M 
u 

New  York 
Vermont 

Rev.  J.  W.  Hallam  

Dr.  E.  D.  Harmon  

Dr.  Isaac  Harmon  

Martin  D.  Harmon   

Charles  L.  Harmon  

Edwin  R.  Harmon  

Isaac  N.  Harmon  

Isaac  D.  Harmon  

Benjamin  Hall  

Virginia 
New  York 

Phil.  A.  Hall  

George  Hall 

A  C   Hamilton 

Col.  R.  J.  Hamilton  

Kentucky 
New  York 

u 

u 

N.  H. 
Vermont 
Penn. 
Vermont 

Pol.  D.  Hamilton  

John  L.  Hanchett  

John  C.  Haines  

E.  M.  Haines  

Edward  H.  Haddock  

H.  Harrington  

Benjamin  Harris  

Hiram  Hastings  

John  F.  Herndon 

H.  N.  Heald... 

Daniel  B.  Heartt  

New  York 

Robert  Heartt  

392 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 


NATIVITY. 


REMARKS. 


George  Heartt 

Washington  Hesing. . . 
William  Hickling. 

Loren  P.  Milliard 

Thomas  S.  Hyde 

Frank  Howe 

James  L.  Howe 

R.  M.  Hough 

O.  S.  Hough 

C.  C.  P.Holden 

A.  G.  Hobbie 

John  W.  Hooker 

Dennison  Horton 

Charles  L.  P.  Hogan.  . 

John  S.  C.  Hogan 

John  Holbrook 

R.M.  Hooley 

Fred  A.  Howe,  Sr 

Fred  A.  Howe,  Jr. . . . . 

Samuel  Hoard 

E.  K.  Hubbard,  Sr 

E.  K.  Hubbard,  Jr 

Henry  G.  Hubbard 

Ahira  Hubbard 

Theodore  Hubbard. . . . 
Augustus  G.  Hubbard. 

Carlos  C.  Hubbard 

Oscar  M.  Hubbard 

Gen'l.  David  Hunter. . 
E.  E.  Hunter.. 


Bensley  Huntoon 

George  M.  Huntoon . . . 
Alonzo  Huntington. . . 
James  O.  Humphrey. . 

Hiram  Hugunin 

Dr.  Peter  D.  Hugunin. 
Leonard  C.  Hugunin. . 

Daniel  Hugunin 

Robert  Hugunin 

John  C.  Hugunin 

Edward  Hugunin 

Edgar  Hugunin 

Eber  Hubbard 

Chester  Ingersoll 

Thomas  C.  James 

Samuel  Jackson 

Carding  Jackson 

Oren  Jackson 

Cyrus  M.  Jackson 

William  W.  Jackson.. . 

Seth  Johnson 

Sanford  Johnson 

John  Johnson 

Peter  Johnson 

Willard  Jones 

William  Jones 

Benjamin  Jones 

Fernando  Jones . 

K.K.Jones 

Lathrop  Johnson 

John  Jackson 

Norman  B.  Judd 

Joseph  Jefferson 


New  York 
Germany 
England 

New  York 
Mass. 

New  York 


Vermont 

New  York 

New  Jersey 

Conn. 


Ireland 
Conn. 

Mass. 

Conn. 

Illinois 

Mass. 

Vermont 

« 

New  York 


Virginia 
Kentucky 

Mass. 

Vermont 
New  York 


New 


York 


Virginia 
Maryland 


Mass. 
11 
11 

New  York 


County  Clerk  1861. 


Alderman  1841. 
Alderman  1855. 

Alderman  1861. 


County  Commissioner  1845. 
First  Post  Master. 


State  Senator  1840,  and  Post  Master   1865. 


Judge  election  1878. 


j  County     Commissioner     1834;     County 
|      Treasurer  1837. 
Judge  election  1837. 


President  of  Town  Trustees  1835. 


Candidate  for  Alderman  1837. 


Alderman  1847. 
Alderman  1837. 


New  York 


First  City  Attorney  and  Member  Congress. 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS 


393 


NAMES. 

NATIVITY. 

REMARKS. 

Gholson  Kercheval..'  

Kentucky 
New  York 

11 
11 

ti 

a 

tt 

it 
11 

Illinois 
New  York 

Canada 

H 
u 

County  Commissioner  1832. 
Treated  first  case  Asiatic  cholera  in  America. 

Candidate  for  Mayor  1849. 

Clerk  Superior  Court  1849. 
County  Treasurer  1835. 

First  Town  Clerk. 
Town  Trustee  1835. 

Alderman  1846. 

Alderman  1847. 
Ex-Fire  Commissioner. 

Member  State  Legislature. 

Candidate  for  Alderman  1837. 

Sheriff  1842. 
Alderman  1856. 
Mayor  1840. 

Alderman  1848. 
Alderman  1846. 

Town  Trustee  1835. 
Judge  of  election  1837. 

Dr   John  A.  Kennicott  

Dr  Levi  Kennicott  

Dr.  William  H.  Kennicott.  .  . 

Dr.  Jonathan  A.  Kennicott..  . 

Harlow  Kitnball           

Martin  N   Kimball    

Walter  Kimball        

I  lenry  Kimball        

H   W  Knickerbocker  

Tuthill  Kino-  

Henry  Kin01   

Dr  E   S   Kimberlv  

George  E   Kimberlv  

A.   V   Knickerbocker  

Ira  Kimberlv  

Nathan  King  

Byram  King               

S.  S   Lathrop  

Claude  LaFromboisj   

11 

N.  H. 
Ireland 

France 
Maryland 

Mass. 

England 
New  York 

William  M.  Larrabee  

Elisha  B.  Lane  

Michael  Lantry  

James  Lane  

Fredrick  Letz  

George  K.  Letz     

Albert  G.  Leary  

James  M.  Lowe  

Samuel  J.  Lowe,  Jr  

William  Lill  

Solomon  Lincoln  

John  R.  Livingston  

Horatio  G.  Loomis  

Vermont 

England 
New  Yqrk 
Ireland 
New  York 
England 
New  York 

Germany 
Mass.  " 
New  York 
Conn. 
New  York 
England 
N.  H. 
New  York 
Ireland 
New  York 
Canada 

Henrv  Loomis  

Samuel  J.  Lowe  

James  Lon^  

Alexander  Lloyd..  . 

Oliver  Lozier  

John  Ludbv  

Curtiss  Lum  

H.  H.Magie  

Louis  Malzacher  

Joel  Manning  

Dr.  Phillip  Maxwell  

Edward  Manierre  

George  Manierre  

James  A.  Marshall  

Svlvester  Marsh  

Alexander  McDaniels  

Ed.  McConnell  

John  McHarrv.  .    .. 

Charles  McClure  

Josiah  E.  McClure  

Wilson  McClintock  

James  McClintock  

394 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 


NAMES. 

NATIVITY. 

REMARKS. 

Jason  McCord   

New  York 
Ireland 

Scotland 
N.  H. 
New  Jersey 
Vermont 
Canada 
Kentucky 
New  York 
Ireland 
New  York 

it 

(i 
Conn. 
Illinois 
Ireland 
New  York 
Ireland 
Germany 
France 
Conn. 

Alderman  1841  and  1843. 
Alderman  1842. 

Alderman  1839. 
Mayor  1838. 

Fire  Warden  1836. 
Coroner  1836;  Alderman  1840. 

School  Inspector. 
Alderman  1839. 

Judge  of  election  1837. 

Alderman  1851. 

40 

First  Mayor. 
Probate  Judge  1839  to  1847. 

Ex-Town  Collectar. 
First  Trustee  and  Indian  Agent  1833. 
Alderman  1854. 

Town  Treasurer  1835. 
Judge  election  1837. 
Judge  U.  S.  Court  of  Claims. 

Charles  McDonnell  

Thomas  McGrath  

James  McKay   

George  W.  Merrill  

Joseph  Meeker  

Ira  Miltimore     

Joseph  Michel   

Buckner  S.  Morris  

N.  B.  Morton  

Patrick  R.  Morgan  

Luther  Morton  

Charles  Morrison  

Ephraim  Morrison,  Sr  

James  M.  Morrison  

Orsetnus  Morrison  

Ephraim  Morrison,  Jr.  ...    .. 

Ezekiel  Morrison  

Daniel  Morrison  

Flavel  Mosley  

John  Murphy  

Hiram  P.  Murphy  

James  K.  Murphy  

E.  H.  Mulford  

Patrick  Murphy  

Rudolph  v  Migleley  

Mathias  Meyer  

N.  L.  F.  Monroe  

R.  N.  Murray  

Leo  Mever  

Illinois 
New  York 

u 

England 

Walter  L.  Newberry  

E.  C.  Nichols  

Pattieson  Nickalls  

William  Ninson  

John  Noble  

New  York 
England 

Mark  Noble  

Nelson  R.  Norton  

William  B.  Ogden  

New  York 

Ohio 
Conn. 

France 
Ireland 

u 

u 
11 

Kentucky 
England 
Scotland 
Vermont 
Maine 
N.  H. 
New  Jersey 
R.  I.     ' 
Canada 
England 
Ohio 

Virginia 

Mahlon  D.  Ogden  

Kingsley  R.  Olmsted  

A.  L.  Osborne  

William  Osborne  

James  T.  Osborne  

Michael  Ouilmette  

Peter  O'Rourke,  Sr.    ... 

Peter  O'Rourke,  Jr  

James  O'Rourke  

Thomas  O'Neil  

John  O'Neil  

T.J.  V.Owen  

John  C.  Outhet  

John  Patterson  

Seth  Paine  

F.  D.  Park  

J.  K.  Palmer  

Charles  M.  Pettitt  

P.  F.  W.  Peck  

Ebenezer  Peck  

Joseph  Peacock  

Gustavus  C.  Pearsons  

Hiram  Pearsons  

George  T.  Pearsons.  .  .    . 

Francis  Peyton  

Lucien  Pevton  

CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS 


395 


NAMES. 

NATIVITY. 

REMARKS. 

New  York 

u 

H 

N.  H. 

u 

New  York 
Vermont 
New  York 

Penn. 
New  York 
Ireland 

New  York 

tt 

Candidate  for  Assessor  1837. 
Alderman  1837. 

Agent  Canal  Land, 
State  Senator. 

Mayor  1839. 
First  City  Surveyor. 

Ex-Constable. 

Fire  Warden  1836. 
Fire  Warden  1834. 

Removed  the  Indians  from  Chicago* 
Mayor  1861. 

Ex-Chief  Justice  Wisconsin. 

Alderman  1845, 

Mayor  1841. 
Mayor  1844. 
Sheriff  1834  and  1836. 

Candidate  for  Sheriff  1837. 
Judge  1851. 

Jeremiah  Price  

Smith  D  Pierce  '  .  . 

Asa  Pierce          

Cornelius  Price  

Asahel  Pierce      

Hibbard  Porter  

\Villiam  G  Powers.          

J.  W.  Pool  

Rev  Jeremiah  Porter  

Redmond  Prindiville     

Eli  S.  Prescott  

Peter  Pruyne  

George  N.  Powell  

F.  H   Porter       

New  York 

J.  H.  Poor           

H.  C.  Parson     

T.  Perkins         

Mass 

James  K.  Paul  

Socrates  Rand      

New  York 

Penn. 
Mass. 

B.  W    Raymond  

James  H   Rees        

Stephen  Rexford   

Henry  Rhines  

James  T  Richards  

New  York 

James  W.  Reed  

Edward  K  Rodders  

Mass. 
New  York 

William  P  Roberts  

Samuel  Resique  

John  C  Rue        

New  York 
Conn. 
Mass. 
New  York 

u 

Scotland 

Jacob  Russell  
Col  J   B  F  Russell  

George  F  Rumsey   

Julien  S   Rumsey  

Edward  H.  Rudd  

Hu»'h  Ross  

E.  G.  Rvan  

W.  W.  Sattonstall  
William  Sattonstall  

Conn. 
New  York 
Michigan 
Maine 
New  Jersey 
New  York 
•    Conn. 
Vermont 
Conn. 

Vermont 
Conn. 

J.  Young  Scammon  

Smith  J   Sherwood  

Morgan-  L.  Shapley  

F.  C.  Sherman  

Alanson  S.  Sherman  

Silas  W.  Sherman  

Ezra  L.  Sherman  

Oren  Sherman  

Francis  T.  Sherman  

A.  S.  Sherman  

John  Shriglev  

James  Sinclair  

England 
New  York 
Mass. 
Ohio 
Vermont 
New  Jersey 

John  Sinclair  

E.  Simmons  

Mark  Skinner  

Dr.  D.  S.  Smith  

T.  W.  Smith  

Charles  B.  Smith  

James  A.  Smith  

New  York 

Mass. 
Scotland 

J.  F.  Smith  

George  Smith  

M.  L.Satterlee  

396 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 


NAMES. 

NATIVITY. 

REMARKS. 

Jeremiah  Smith.           

First  County  Clerk. 
Assessor  1833. 
Ex-  Collector  of  the  Pott 

Alderman  1855. 

Alderman  1839. 
Post  Master  1846. 

Sheriff  1840. 
Alderman  1839. 

Ex-Police  Commissioner. 

Alderman  1853. 

Alderman  1837. 
Judge  of  election  1837. 

Alderman  1839. 
County  Treasurer  1836. 

Town  Trustee  1836. 

William  Smith  

Walter  Stowell  

William  See                        .... 

Virginia 
Vermont 
Ireland 
New  York 
Conn. 
Mass. 
Penn. 

New  York 

a 
<( 
H 

u 

u 
« 
11 

Tenn. 
New  York 
Germany 
New  York 

George  W.  Snow  

W.  B.  Snowhook  

S.  F.  Spalding  

Isaac  Speer  

Giles  Spring  

John  Spence  

James  Spence  

Sylvester  Sexton  

M.  C.  Stearns  

James*  W.  Steele  

W.  H.  Stowe  

H.  M.  Stowe  

Hart  L.  Stewart  

Dr.  John  J.  Stuart  

H.  O.  Stone  

James  M.  Strode  

Ashbel  Steele  

Clement  Stoce  

William  Stuart  

Alanson  Sweet  

R.  M.  Sweet  

New  York 
Ireland 

New  York 
(i 

(i 
(i 
(i 
« 

H 

Virginia 
Conn. 
New  York 

u 
u 

Conn. 

u 
(t 

John  Sweeney  

Willis  Scott  

Willard  Scott  

Stephen  S.  Scott.  .  .  . 

Hugh  Short  

Mancel  Talcott,  Jr  

Edward  B.  Talcott  . 

Mancel  Talcott,  Sr..    . 

Edmund  D.  Taylor  

Solomon  Taylor..  ..... 

W.W.Taylor  

Abner  Taylor.  

Deodat  A.  Taylor.      . 

Anson  H.  Taylor.. 

Henry  Taylor  

Francis  H.Taylor. 

Charles  H.  Taylor..  . 

A.  W.  Taylor  

Robert  Thompson.. 

Enoch  Thompson. 

. 

James  B.  Tuttle... 

Mass. 
S.  C. 

A.  M.  Talley  

Dr.  John  T.  Temple. 

Dr.  Peter  Temple. 

Oliver  H.  Thompson 

Vermont 
Mass. 
Vermont 
New  York 

u 

Mass. 
Penn. 

S.  G.  Trowbridge. 

Robinson  Tripp. 

Nelson  Tuttle..  .    . 

Lucius  G.  Tuttle  

Fredrick  Tuttle... 

Thomas  E.  Tucker 

Henry  Tucker.  .  . 

John  Turner.  .  . 

Norman  K.  Towner. 

Peter  L.  Updike. 

Sew  Jersey 
Mass. 

J.  M.  Underwood.. 

Henrv  Vanderbogart 

Daniel  W.  Vaughan 

Robert  Vial.. 

CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS, 


NAMES. 

NATIVITY. 

REMARKS. 

Samuel  Vial                  

Alderman  1837. 

Second  Coroner  1832. 
Ex-Member  of  Congress  and  Mayor. 

First  white  male  child  born  in  Ft.  Dearborn, 

President  Town  Trustees  1836. 

Sheriff  1856. 
Post  Master  1850. 
Secretary  of  Legation,  London  1861. 

Fire  Warden  1836. 
Mayor  and  Member  of  Congress. 

Fire  Warden  1834. 

Member  first  Board  of  Education  1837. 
County  Commissioner  1832. 

Rev  Jesse  Wall  e.~  

Virginia 
H 

Samuel  \Valkins  

lixland 

W  \V    Watt  es 

Thomas  \Vatkins        

J    H   Walker        

Vermont 
New  York 

Conn. 
England 

Charles  Walker  

C   H  Walker     

Seth  Wadhatns  

Julius  \Vadsworth  

E   S  Wadsworth   

Samuel  Wayman  

John  \Vatkins                

Seth  P.  Warner  

New  York 
England 
Germany 

William  Wayman  

John  \Vellmaker        

Elijah  Wentworth  Jr 

John  Wentworth   

N.  H. 

N.  S. 

Ireland 

M 

John  B.  Weir  

George  E.  Weir  

Patrick  Welch  

Michael  Welch  

A.  B.  Wheeler  

New  York 

Henry  Whitehead  

England 

Charles  Whitlock 

Merriweather  L.  Whistler..  .  . 
Henry  R.  Whipple  

Illinois 
New  York 
Vermont 
New  York 

Conn. 

Dr.  Tolman  Wheeler  

Joel  H.  Wicker  

Charles  G.  Wicker  

Eli  B.  Williams  

E.  F.Wellington     . 

John  L.  Wilson  

New  York 

u 
u 

England 
Ne\v  York 

Richard  L.  Wilson  

Charles  L.  Wilson  

Arthur  W.  Windett.  

James  Winship  

Alexander  Wolcott  

Conn. 
Vermont 

Daniel  Worthington  

William  Worthingham  

James  H.  Woodworth  

New  York 
Mass. 

H 

ll 

Vermont 

John  Wright. 

John  S.  Wright  

Timothy  Wright  

Walter  "Wright  

Truman  G.  Wright  

Peter  Warden 

J.  Ambrose  Wight.   .    . 

Thomas  White  

Ireland 

Charles  Wisencraft 

Thomas  Wright  

New  York 
Mass. 

Edward  Wright  

James  Walker  .  .  . 

William  Weatherford. 

Solomon  Wells  

George  W.  Wilde  

39* 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 


A    PROPHECY. 

We  cannot  resist  inserting  the  following  prophecy  made  by  Colbert 
and  Chamberlain,  in  the  shadow  of  the  blackened  ruins  of  the  ninth  of 
October,  1871.  They  wrote:  "London,  with  a  population  diminished  more 
than  one-third  by  the  plague  of  the  previous  year,  and  demoralized  by  the 
licentiousness  of  the  times  of  the  cavaliers,  recovered  within  five  years  from 
a  destruction  quite  as  complete  as  that  of  Chicago.  New  York  was  visited 
in  1835  by  a  conflagration,  much  less  destructive  to  be  sure  than  this  of 
ours,  but  it  was  preceded  by  pestilence  in  1832  and  1834,  and  followed  by 
the  great  commercial  revulsion  of  1837;  in  spite  of  all  which  disasters, 
New  York  grew  in  that  decade  from  a  city  of  two  hundred  and  two 
thousand  people  to  one  of  three  hundred  and  twelve  thousand.  The 
argument  from  this  is,  that  a  general  conflagration  is  not  necessarily  fatal 
to  a  city,  nor  even  a  long-continued  check  upon  its  forward  career.  Lon- 
don continued  to  grow  rapidly  because  it  had  made  itself  the  center  of  an 
immense  ocean  commerce,  and  the  metropolis  of  a  prosperous  country. 
New  York  bade  defiance  to  a  three-fold  disaster  for  a  like  reason.  Chicago 
has  fastened  upon  the  trade  of  the  great  Northwest  with  chains  that  can- 
not be  unbound,  and  will  therefore  grow  with  that  rapidly  developing 
country,  and  without  any  serious  hindrance  from  what  has  happened. 
Individual  fortunes  have  been,  in  some  cases,  irretrievably  lost,  though 
the  way  in  which  these  men  rebound,  even  from  out  the  slough  of  despair, 
is  something  wonderful;  but  the  city  must  still  go  marching  on.  The 
West  must  have  her  for  uses  which  no  other  locality  can  subserve,  and 
which  no  other  city,  even  if  it  had  the  advantage  of  location,  could 
prepare  itself  to  subserve  in  thrice  the  time  it  will  take  Chicago  to 
recuperate.  The  produce  of  the  West  and  the  capital  of  the  East  are 
alike  interested  in  keeping  Chicago  the  metropolis  of  the  Northwest — an 
empire  already  vaster,  and  much  more  rapidly  growing,  than  that  of  Great 
Britain  at  the  time  London  was  destroyed. 

People  who  come  to  Chicago  and  take  a  survey  of  her  present 
apparent  desolation  are  shocked  by  it,  and  go  away  saying  that  Chicago 
cannot  be  rebuilt  in  less  than  a  generation.  They  forget  that  Chicago  was 
a  generation  in  attaining  her  late  magnificence  simply  because  the  West 
was  that  length  of  time  in  growing  to  its  present  proportions;  and  that 
the  question  of  how  long  it  will  take  to  rebuild  Chicago — the  West  being 
still  intact  around  her — is  simply  a  question  of  how  long  it  will  require 


CHICAGO  AND   ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  399 

for  the  country  to  produce  the  bricks  and  the  stone  to  lay  up  her  walls 
withal.  It  is  estimated  by  those  competent  to  judge  of  this  that  three 
years  will  be  adequate  to  the  work ;  in  other  words,  that  as  soon  as  the 
grand  buildings  of  the  railway  corporations,  the  city,  and  the  United 
States  government,  can  be  completed  in  a  solid  manner,  they  will  already 
be  surrounded  by  a  complete  city,  equal  in  its  capacity  for  the  accommoda- 
tion of  business  to  that  which  fell  in  the  great  conflagration.  The  population 
will  also,  by  that  time,  have  shot  considerably  past  the  mark  of  September, 
1871;  but  as  certain  fine  theaters,  churches,  and  residences  will  still  be 
behind,  it  is  better,  in  order  to  be  within  the  bounds  of  moderation,  to  set 
the  period  of  Chicago's  complete  recuperation  at  five  years  from  the  date 
of  her  disaster — the  eighth  of  October,  1876. 

We  have  shown  in  a  previous  chapter  that  the  average  annual  rate 
of  increase  in  the  value  of  property  in  Chicago,  during  the  ten  years  (pre- 
ceding 1871,  has  been  ten  and  a  half  per  cent,  which  compounds  at  sixty-six 
and  a  half  per  cent,  in  five  years.  Thus,  reckoning  only  the  ordinary 
growth  of  the  city,  and  making  no  allowance  for  the  extraordinary 
stimulus  occasioned  by  the  sudden  necessities  of  the  present  crisis,  the 
value  of  property  lost  by  the  fire — one-third  of  the  whole — would  be  more 
than  recovered  by  the  Fall  of  1876.  It  may  be  argued  that  this  ratio  of 
increment  will  be  diminished,  owing  to  the  lack  of  facilities  for  doing 
business,  and  the  consequent  diversion  of  trade  to  competing  towns;  also 
that  these  towns,  particularly  St.  Louis,  are  sharper  competitors  than 
London  had  in  1666;  but  this,  if  true,  applies  only  in  a  small  measure. 
The  country  had  already  elected  Chicago  as  the  capital  of  the  Northwest, 
and  by  converging  in  her  the  many  railroads  which  were  built  for  accom- 
modating the  traffic  of  that  section,  fixed  her  as  the  seat  of  that  traffic 
more  firmly  far  than  a  State  statute  and  a  million  or  two  of  dollars  in 
public  buildings,  fix  the  capital  of  a  State  in  Albany  or  Springfield. 
Saying  nothing  of  the  four  hundred  millions  of  dollars  of  capital  still 
represented  in  the  buildings,  lands,  and  merchandise  of  Chicago,  there 
are  three  hundred  million  dollars  invested  in  her  railroads,  every  dollar 
of  which  is  vitally  interested  in  keeping  the  traffic  of  the  Northwest 
upon  these  roads.  New  York  commercial  capital  is  interested  in  the  same 
direction,  for  Chicago  is  by  all  odds  New  York's  best  customer,  and  what- 
ever trade  should  be  diverted  from  Chicago  to  St.  Louis,  or  Cincinnati, 
would  also  be  diverted  from  New  York  to  Philadelphia.  With  all  these 
artificial  influences,  and  the  same  powerful  natural  influences  which  fixed 
Chicago  where  she  is,  working  together  for  her  restoration,  it  will  not  be 
possible  for  other  influences  to  distract  much  of  her  trade  or  delay  her 
growth  in  population  a  single  year,  or  hinder  the  reconstruction  of  her  edifices 
beyond  the  date  which  we  have  set  down — the  eighth  of  October,  1876. 

The  disaster  to  Chicago  will  not  probably  delay  at  all  the  enlarge- 
ment of  the  Niagara  and  St.  Lawrence  Canals,  and  the  deepening  of  the 
channels  at  each  end  of  Lake  Huron,  both  of  which  measures  for  the  im- 
provement of  navigation  and  the  substitution  of  larger  vessels — and  hence 


400  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

cheaper  rates — for  the  grain  traffic  of  the  country,  are  to  be  undertaken  at 
government  expense.  These  measures,  though  not  at  the  expense  of 
Chicago,  will  still  benefit  Chicago  greatly  by  making  the  production 
of  grain  more  profitable  to  the  farmer,  who,  as  a  consequence,  will  not 
only  raise  more  grain,  but  have  more  money  to  spend  in  Chicago.  At 
the  same  time  the  improvement  of  this  water  route  will  increase  Chicago's 
facilities  as  an  importing  city — a  function  which  she  had  just  begun  to 
develop  extensively  at  the  time  the  disaster  struck  her.  There  are  also 
two  or  more  trunk  railways  from  the  East  proposing  to  enter  Chicago  to 
compete  for  the  trade  of  the  Northwest.  These,  if  completed — and  there 
is  no  reason  why  they  should  be  interrupted  by  what  has  happened — will 
still  further  increase  the  business  of  this  metropolis,  as  will  also  the  four 
or  five  proposed  new  routes  diverging  into  the  grain  and  stock  producing 
country,  and  the  route  by  way  of  Evansville  to  Mobile,  to  be  finished 
early  in  1872,  which  ought  to  bring  in  bond  all  the  West  India  goods 
consumed  in  the  Northwest,  the  merchants  of  Chicago  deriving  from  this 
trade  the  large  profits  of  the  importers,  instead  of  the  small  ones  of  the 
simple  jobber. 

At  the  same  time  that  this  increase  in  trade  is  going  on — subject  to 
the  drawbacks  already  mentioned — certain  lines  of  manufactures  may  be 
established  to  increase  considerably,  for  instance,  those  of  all  materials 
used  in  building  and  furnishing  stores  and  houses,  and  those  of  light  arti- 
cles, the  help  for  making  which  can  be  recruited  from  the  ranks  of  the 
shop  girls  and  boys  thrown  out  of  employment  by  the  fire,  or  forced  by 
the  hard  times  upon  such  industrial  pursuits. 

The  city  may  be  expected,  then,  to  make  a  greater  show  of  railway 
and  shipping  warehouses  than  before  the  fire.  The  streets,  except  a  few 
of  them,  will  not  be  built  up  with  stores  so  continuously  as  before  the  fire, 
but  the  amount  of  facilities  for  business,  especially  for  wholesale  business, 
will  be  greater  than  it  was;  while  the  public  buildings,  as  the  postoffice, 
custom  house,  city  hall,  railway  passenger  depots,  chamber  of  commerce, 
etc.,  will  present  an  appearance  corresponding  to  a  city  three  or  four  times 
as  great  as  that  for  which  the  destroyed  structures  were  built.  Public 
libraries  and  galleries  of  art  will  have  to  wait  longer,  as  will  also  the  park 
improvements  which  the  citizens  were  projecting  on  such  a  mammoth 
scale;  but  the  theaters,  at  the  date  specified  will  have  just  about  recovered 
the  number  and  magnitude  which  they  had  attained  before  the  fire,  and 
that,  be  it  recollected,  was  two-fold  greater  than  one  year  before,  and  at 
least  four-fold  greater  than  any  other  Western  city  could  boast. 

Let  it  not  be  understood,  however,  that  fortunes  will  be  rebuilt  within 
any  such  period,  or  that  the  private  luxury  and  elegance  of  yesterday  will 
be  re-established.  The  business  marts  will  be  humming  again  simplv 
because  they  must,  but  in  many  cases  other  men  will  preside  over  them, 
while  some  who  worked  with  the  head  yesterday  will  work  with  the 
hands  then.  The  most  of  the  business  men  of  Chicago,  however,  have 
too  much  pluck,  and  also  too  much  of  the  quality  called  brass  for  that. 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  401 

They  will  make  a  shift — indeed  two-thirds  of  them  have  already  made  a 
shift  to  resume  •  their  places  as  proprietors,  and  get  capital  from  some- 
where— the  Lord,  who  tempers  the  wind  to  the  shorn  lamb,  knows  where. 
A  single  case  illustrates-this.  The  writer,  wandering  among  the  mournful 
ruins  of  the  North  Division,  on  the  day  after  that  quarter  was  destroyed, 
met  an  acquaintance  whom  he  accosted  with  the  usual  salutation:  'How 
did  you  come  out?'  The  answer  was:  'Yesterday  morning  I  had  a  ware- 
house over  there  with  thirty  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  wool  in  it;  I  had  a 
fine  hoase,  well  furnished,  for  my  home,  and  two  others  to  help  out  my 
income.  To-day,  I've  got  what  I  have  on  my  back;  my  wife  the  same — 
that  is  all.'  'Are  you  going  to  give  it  up?'  we  asked.  'No,  sir,'  he 
answered.  A  fortnight  later  we  encountered  the  same  friend  dashing 
down  the  street  at  great  speed.  He  had  got  track  of  a  man  who  would, 
he  thought,  put  up  a  building  for  him,  and  was  going  to  have  the  contract 
made  before  night.  He  was  buoyant  and  enthusiastic. 

Probably  the  reader  of  this  history  who  visits  Chicago  five  years 
hence,  w. .  i  find  this  man  in  full  blast  in  his  new  warehouse,  not  with 
thirty,  but  with  sixty  or  ninety  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  wool  in  store, 
and  not  w.th  two,  but  four  houses  to  rent;  for  it  is  such  pluck  as  this  that 
wins  in  the  West. 

This  visitor  will  see,  besides  the  twenty  railroads  which  already  con- 
verge at  Chicago,  the  six  important  lines  now  projected,  also  entering 
the  heart  of  the  city,  probably  by  sunk  tracks,  and  through  viaducts  at 
every  street-crossing.  He  will  see,  let  us  hope,  a  consolidation  of  all  the 
passenger  stations  into  three  at  most,  and  will  be  told  that  the  system  of 
omnibus  tolls  upon  travelers  has  been  abolished. 

He  will  see  the  streets  of  the  central  portion  of  the  city — the  burnt 
district  of  the  South  and  part  of  that  of  the  North  Divisions — raised  from 
two  to  three  feet  above  their  present  grade,  and  from  ten  to  fifteen  above 
the  original  level  of  the  prairie.  As  a  concomitant  of  this,  he  will  see  a 
good  portion  of  our  sewerage  reversed  in  its  course,  as  the  river  has 
already  been  served.  The  buildings  which  line  these  streets  he  will  find 
to  be  chiefly  of  brick,  and  of  soberer  appearance  than  the  gay,  cream- 
colored  stone — treacherous  beauty! — which  so  dtlighted  his  eye  in  the 
Summer  of  '71.  He  will  mark,  nevertheless,  the  solidity  and  substantiality 
of  everything,  and  will  query  if,  after  all,  the  painted  red  brick  fronts, 
relieved  at  intervals  by  cream-colored  walls  from  Milwaukee,  or  rich,  natural 
red  from  Philadelphia  or  Baltimore,  or  light  brown  sandstone  from  Cleve- 
land, or  gray  granite  from  Duluth,  or  ruddy  brown  sandstone  from  Lake 
Superior,  or  the  censured,  but  not  entirely  tabooed  limestone  from  Jolier,  be 
not,  after  all,  in  their  endless  variety,  more  cheerful  than  the  stately  monot- 
ony of  the  old  era.  He  will  see  few  mansard  roofs  or  ornate  cornices,  but 
will,  nevertheless,  be  pleased  with  the  brightness  and  newness  of  every- 
thing; and  since  the  beauty  of  a  thing  consists,  in  great  part,  of  its  fitness 
for  the  place  which  it  occupies,  the  visitor  will  be,  or,  at  least  should  be, 
inclined  to  pronounce  favorably  concerning  the  beauty  of  the  new  Chicago. 


^02  CHICAGO  AND  ITS   DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

He  will  notice  that  the  pavements  are,  as  in  '71,  notable  for  their 
smoothness  and  silence  under  the  wheel,  being  made  of  wooden  blocks, 
as  now,  or  of  the  asphalt-rock  concrete,  in  making  which  we  are  improv- 
ino-  so  much  every  day.  He  will  see  sidewalks  built  of  this  material, 
being  laid  in  the  filled  districts  over  brick  arches;  and  he  will  find,  on 
passing  under  these  sidewalks  that  the  vaults,  thus  formed,  are  absolutely 
fire-proof  receptacles  for  such  articles  as  may  be  consigned  to  them. 

He  will  see  upon  the  lake  shore  an  inclosed  harbor  of  refuge,  lined 
on  two  sides  with  slips  for  the  accommodation  of  vessels  of  greater  draft 
and  tonnage  than  have  ever  come  to  this  port  hitherto.  Passing  up  the 

river that  is,  down  it  toward  the  Mississippi — he  will  find  its  docks  devoted 

more  to  the  unloading  and  storing  of  iron,  coal,  and  heavy  merchandise 
than  they  now  are,  much  of  the  merchandise  being  brought  in  on  lighter 
scows  from  the  outer  harbor.  He  will  look  in  vain  for  any  yards  01 
depositories  for  lumber  within  two  and  a  half  miles  of  the  river's  mouth. 
He  will  not  find  the  business  of  the  great  Union  Stock  Yards  much 
increased,  though  he  knows  that  that  was  almost  the  only  interest  which 
did  not  suffer  by  the  fire.  On  asking  the  reason  for  this,  he  will  learn 
that,  as  the  country  for  grazing  has  been  pushed  gradually  westward  and 
southward,  the  cities  which  sprang  up  thereaway,  particularly  Kansas 
City,  had  naturally  become,  to  a  considerable  degree,  the  distributing 
points  of  cattle  for  the  East;  but  that  the  increased  consumption  of  meats 
in  Chicago  and  the  district  supplied  from  Chicago,  had  kept  up  the  demand 
at  about  the  old  figures. 

He  will  see  no  greater  area  covered  by  Chicago  than  he  saw  five 
years  before,  except  at  the  suburbs  along  the  railroads,  whither  people  of 
moderate  means  will  go  to  build  wooden  houses,  and  avoid  what  many 
will  doubtless  call  the  odious  fire  ordinance,  which  will  prohibit  all  wooden 
houses  within  the  city  limits.  He  will  see  steam  or  compressed  air  sub- 
stituted for  horse-power  upon  the  most  of  the  street-railways. 

He  will  see  a  population  greater  by  nearly  one  hundred  thousand 
than  that  which  Uncle  Sam's  census-taker  found  in  1870.  These  people 
will  look  hard-worked,  and  those  of  the  old  lot  will  seem  more  than  five 
years  older  than  they  did  on  a  September  morning  in  1871.  They  may 
well  be  advised,  at  that  time,  to  pause  a  little  in  their  hard  chase  after 
material  things,  and  consider  those  of  the  heart,  the  mind,  and  the  immortal 
soul;  and  if  the  visitor  be  of  a  missionary  turn,  he  cannot  throw  his  sub- 
jects into  a  tender  mood  more  effectually  than  by  reminding  them  of  the 
night  of  the  eighth  of  October,  '71,  and  of  how  the  world  stood  by  Chi- 
cago in  that  sad  time. 

But  he  will,  on  the  whole,  be  proud  of  the  new  Chicago,  from  what- 
ever quarter  he  may  hail.  He  will  find  her  changed  from  the  Chicago 
of  yesterday  in  such  manner  as  the  wild  and  wanton  girl,  of  luxurious 
beauty,  and  generous,  free  ways,  is  changed  when,  becoming  a  wife,  a 
great  bereavement,  or  the  pangs  and  burdens  of  maternity  overtake  her, 
robbing  her  cheek  of  its  rich  flush,  but  at  the  same  time  ripening  her  beauty, 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  4°3 

elevating,  deepening,  expanding  her  character,  and  imbuing  her  with  a 
susceptibility  of  feeling,  a  consciousness  of  strength,  and  an  earnestness 
of  purpose  which  she  knew  not  before. 

When  thus  transformed,  the  new  Chicago  shall  go,  on  the  centennial 
of  our  nation's  birth,  to  join  her  sisters  in  laying  the  laurel  wreath  upon 
the  mother  Columbia's  brow,  she  will  be  greeted  with  signal  warmth  by 
each  and  all  of  them,  and  welcomed  back  from  out  her  vale  of  affliction 
as  one  who  had  suffered  that  she  might  be  strong." 

This  prophecy,  to  us,  is  most  interesting  reading.  At  the  time  it  was 
made  it  doubtless  appeared  fanciful  to  thousands  who  have  lived  to  see 
many  parts  of  it  more  than  fulfilled.  As  has  already  been  shown,  it  was 
not  correct  as  to  the  future  of  the  Union  Stock  Yards,  which  have  had 
such  a  wonderful  growth,  and  which  must  continue  to  grow  in  the  future. 
Nothing  can  rob  Chicago  of  her  position  in  the  live  stock  trade  any  more 
than  she  can  be  robbed  of  her  position  as  a  grain  center. 

Unfortunately,  as  we  think,  the  prophecy  in  regard  to  the  character 
of  the  buildings  which  were  to  take  the  place  of  those  consumed,  has  not 
proved  true.  Chicago  did  not  learn  from  her  great  conflagration  some 
of  the  lessons  which  it  plainly  taught.  In  that  fire  and  in  all  similar  fires, 
the  fact  that  brick  is  the  safest  building  material,  was  fully  demonstrated. 
It  does  not  adorn  a  city  as  granite  and  marble  do,  but  safety  is  a  much 
more  valuable  consideration  than  splendor.  Our  buildings  are  also  too 
high.  Surprise  is  often  expressed  at  the  good  fortune  which  the  fire 
department  enjoys  in  extinguishing  fires  among  old  wooden  buildings. 
"  If  it  had  been  in  the  business  part  of  the  city,  instead  of  among  a  lot  of 
shanties,  the  fire  would  have  consumed  several  buildings,"  is  a  representa- 
tive expression.  It  is  very  apt,  too,  to  be  an  expression  of  the  truth,  and 
the  reason  is  that  in  the  business  sections  the  buildings  are  so  high  that  in 
any  considerable  conflagration  the  water  is  converted  into  steam  before 
it  reaches  them,  and  no  water  strikes  the  fire.  It  is  noticeable,  too,  that 
some  buildings  are  being  improved  by  adding  mansard  roofs,  the  most 
dangerous  kind  of  fire  trap  that  was  ever  introduced  in  a  city.  It  should 
not  be  allowed. 

The  matter  of  pavements  was  correctly  pictured  by  the  enthusiastic 
prophet,  but  it  is  not  likely  that  wooden  pavements  will  be  used  in  the 
business  portions  of  the  city  many  years  longer.  They  are  not  fitted  for 
heavy  travel,  and  stone  must  take  the  place  of  wood  sooner  or  later.  The 
first  cost  would  be  considerable,  but  no  doubt  of  the  final  economy  of 
the  change  can  for  a  moment  be  entertained. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 


PUBLIC    CHARITIES. 

Our  Christian  civilization  sheds  no  brighter  or  sweeter  light  than  is 
reflected  in  its  softening  of  the  human  heart  toward  humanity  in  distress. 
Steadily  has  the  world  advanced  and  developed  in  this  divinest  of  charac- 
teristics. When  the  Knights  Hospitaller,  and  later  the  Knights  Templar, 
came  into  existence,  mankind  was  starving  for  sympathy  and  love,  and 
hundreds  were  dying  for  fraternal  care.  For  seven  hundred  years  these 
orders  were  striving  to  plant  flowers  along  the  rugged  pathway  of  human 
life,  to  smooth  the  pillow  of  the  dying  and  to  tenderly  bury  the  dead. 
Their  work  was  like  a  sunburst  on  the  midnight,  so  novel  was  its  nature 
and  so  angelic  was  its  influence.  How  differently  is  the  human  race 
situated  to-day.  The  brilliant  features  of  David  and  Jonathan,  and  Damon 
and  Pythias,  blaze  in  charming  beauty  on  every  page  of  modern  history. 
In  these  were  represented  isolated  instances  of  the  acknowledged  brother- 
hood of  man.  Now  brotherhood  is  universal.  Its  recognition,  which  was 
once  so  rare  that  it  was  like  an  Italian  garden  in  the  snow-beds  of  Lapland — 
like  a  cooling  zephyr  kissing  the  burning  surface  of  the  desert,  is  as  a  melting 
and  diffusion  of  the  heart  of  God  into  a  sky  of  Summer  sunset  magnificence. 
The  chord  that  links  man  to  man,  man  to  angels,  and  angels  to  God,  now 
vibrates  from  limit  to  limit  whenever  a  heart  from  here  to  heaven  weeps  a 
tear.  Joseph  Mazzini,  moving  among  his  kind  like  a  soft  sunbeam  streaming 
from  the  first  glow  of  the  morning,  and  laughing  amidst  the  frowning 
rocks — his  character  radiant  with  love  and  sympathy,  and  paling  the  blaze 
of  beauty  which  nature  had  kindled  in  the  gardens  of  his  native  Italy; 
Father  Matthew,  with  his  great  heart  full  of  sunshine  and  God;  John 
Howard,  so  full  of  heaven  that  he  left  it  glowing  in  every  footprint  he 
made;  Florence  Nightingale — one  of  the  silver  links  that  chain  the  earth 
to  the  beautiful  yonder— the  sweet  flower  blooming  among  the  briars; 
and  our  own  George  Peabody,  are  but  a  few  stars  in  the  sky  of  to-day 
whose  azure  background  is  ablaze  with  a  confluence  of  radiant  spots  of 
philanthrophy  and  fraternal  love  to  all  mankind.  It  was  a  rich  legacy 
to  have  been  a  fellow  countryman  of  George  Peabody.  The  monument 
to  his  memory  cost  eight  and  a  half  millions  of  dollars,  and  he  paid  for  it 
himself.  It  stands  upon  two  continents,  and  the  poor  of  London  and  the 
children  of  America  gather  in  its  shadow,  and  thank  God  for  the  nation 
that  gave  George  Peabody  to  the  world.  The  queen  of  England  did 
him  the  honor  to  present  him  with  her  portrait,  and  he  did  the  queen  the 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  405 

honor  to  accept  it.  Down  in  the  human  heart  of  the  nineteenth  century 
there  is  a  burning  love  for  humanity.  Sometimes  we  do  not  realize  it 
ourselves.  But  it  is  there;  it  burns  like  fire  in  the  open  grate  in  mid- Winter; 
it  glows  as  the  sun  at  noonday ;  it  is  as  charming  as  the  radiance  of  love 
can  make  it.  Some  twenty  years  ago,  in  mid-Winter,  the  darkness  of  the 
night  was  kindled  int.o  a  glare  by  the  burning  of  a  ferry  bout,  which  took 
fire  when  midway  between  Philadelphia  and  Camden.  The  mad  flames 
leaped  into  the  cold  air,  like  tongues  of  fire  from  the  bottomless  pit;  they 
painted  the  skies  with  the  red  shadow  of  reckless  frenzy,  and  in  the  light 
the  grinning  skeleton  of  death  was  reflected  in  the  cakes  of  ice  upon  the 
surface  of  the  Delaware  in  horrible  distinctness.  Rapidly  the  flames 
spread,  and  soon  the  ill-fated  boat  appeared  like  a  moving  mountain  of 
flame.  Now  a  stream  of  fire  would  shoot  up  toward  the  stars,  and  laugh- 
ing, seem  to  taunt  the  mass  of  flame  below  for  its  indolence;  then,  as  if  to 
resent  the  indignity,  another  column  would  leap  still  higher,  as  if  deter- 
mined "now  or  never  to  sit  beside  the  pale-faced  moon."  The  sportive 
sparks  rode  on  the  wind,  and  frolicked  together  as  if  it  were  a  May-day 
festival  to  the  two  hundred  human  beings  on  the  deck  of  that  burning 
boat.  The  passengers  ran  hither  and  thither,  the  flames  streaming  from 
many  as  they  ran;  men  fell  upon  their  knees  and  called  to  God  for  mercy; 
women  screamed  in  the  agony  of  despair;  mothers  called  frantically  for 
their  lost  dear  ones;  children  were  crying  for  parents;  all  was  confusion 
and  horror,  and  the  multitude  upon  the  wharf  looked  on  the  feast  of  death 
in  breathless  agony.  Soon  a  steady  stream  of  immortal  souls  began  to 
pour  from  the  holocaust  into  eternity.  Men  leaped  for  life,  but  into  death, 
upon  the  glistening  ice;  women  shot  like  burning  meteors  from  the  flames 
upon  the  frozen  bier  that  encased  the  floundering  boat;  mothers  hurled 
their  burning  children  overboard,  and  then  followed  them  to  the  gate  of 
hei'.ven;  and  the  mangled  and  roasted  dead  began  to  lay  in  heaps  upon  the 
ice.  But  the  boa.t  was  headed  toward  the  wharf;  she  increased  her 
speed;  the  wheels  beat  the  ice  away,  and  between  two  winrows  of  burn- 
ing corpses  she  was  bearing  to  safety  the  fifty  men  and  women  that  yet 
remained  on  board.  Nearer  and  nearer  she  came ;  every  heart  on  the  wharf 
was  fluttering  with  expectancy;  every  man  was  eager  to  catch  the  ropes 
and  place  the  gang  planks;  she  almost  touched  the  wharf,  and  a  thousand 
strong  in/en  rushed  forward  with  outstretched  arms  to  catch  the  imperiled 
who  were  crowding  toward  life,  but  the  boat  seemed  to  be  swinging  away ; 
she  was;  she  was  drifting  out  into  the  stream.  "Why  don't  you  put  her 
in?"  shrieked  ten  thousand  voices  to  the  pilot.  "It  will  set  the  shipping 
on  fire,"  wa»  the  reply.  An  old  sailor,  who  looked  as  if  all  the  humanity 
had  been  crushed  out  of  him  by  the  storms,  and  as  if  his  heart  had  been 
baked  by  blazing  suns,  shouted:  "What  is  all  the  shipping  in  Philadelphia 
worth  compared  to  those  men  and  women  vou  have  got  on  board  that  boat, 
you  scoundrel?"  and  an  amen  to  the  sentiment  of  love  burst  from 
twenty  thousand  throats,  and  frightened  that  boat  to  the  dock.  That  is 
the  feeling  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Love  is  universal;  fraternity  is  not 


j.o6  CHICAGO  AND  ITS   DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

circumscribed;  culture  has  kindled  the  embers  of  brotherhood  into  a 
quenchless  flame,  and  in  its  sweet  warmth  heaven  plays  about  every  heart, 
glows  in  every  pathway,  illumines  every  home.  True,  there  are  hearts  and 
homes  that  do  not  feel  it,  but  there  are  homes,  too,  in  which  the  sunbeams 
never  laugh  and  play;  the  shutters  are  kept  barred;  the  curtains  are  never 
raised.  Floods  of  sunshine  without  are  ever  trying  to  melt  their  way  in, 
but  never  succeed.  Thus  it  is  with  the  heart  or  home  that  never  feels  the 
warming  touch  of  sympathizing  love.  It  is  as  free  and  brilliant  as  the  light 
of  noonday,  and  bubbles  in  the  heart  like  a  never-failing  spring  amidst  the 
rocks.  From  the  hill-tops  the  birds  mingle  their  music  with  the  soft 
throbbings  of  the  human  heart  and  the  melodies  of  angelic  choristers, 
and  love's  harmonious  strains  fill  the  valleys  of  the  fields  and  trill  through 
the  arches  of  the  universe;  on  the  flowers  and  crystal  streams,  in  the 
morning's  daybreak  and  in  the  evening's  twilight,  twinkling  in  the  sweet 
light  of  the  stars  and  in  the  gentle  laughter  of  the  moon,  on  all  nature, 
animate  or  inanimate,  there  is  the  gentle  reflection  of  the  joys,  the  smiles, 
the  divinity  of  love.  It  is  this  universal  recognition  of  man's  universal 
brotherhood  that  builds  our  palaces  for  the  poor,  the  infirm,  the  sick,  the 
tempted  and  the  helpless.  A  city  may  be  built  with  the  costliest  of  mar- 
ble; its  streets  may  be  paved  with  gold;  its  mansions  may  shadow  the 
magnificence  of  the  most  resplendent  kingly  palaces;  its  art  galleries  may 
be  never  so  complete  and  elegant,  and  its  intelligence  never  so  attractive, 
if  its  poor  and  blind  and  halt  were  not  handsomely  cared  for,  the  world 
would  be  unable  to  behold  its  splendors  through  the  cloud  that  enveloped 
it.  Rome  was  brilliant,  but  when  her  battered  soldiers  and  tattered  poor 
gathered  to  demand  recognition  of  their  humanity,  their  liberty  and  their 
right  to  live,  and  when  she  murdered  Manlius  because  his  heart  went  so 
strongly  out  in  sympathy  for  the  oppressed,  that  he  was  prompted  to  de- 
clare that  so  long  as  a  pound  of  his  fortune  remained,  not  another  Roman 
should  be  imprisoned  because  he  was  poor,  her  art  galleries  ceased  to 
charm,  her  wealth  ceased  to  influence,  her  power  began  to  wane,  and 
Rome  hurled  herself  from  the  very  glitter  of  noonday  into  the  gloom  of 
midnight.  Chicago  has  been  adorned  by  her  wealth  and  enterprise  until 
she  is  the  rival  of  any  city  in  the  world,  in  maturing  beauty  and  refine- 
ment. But  with  her  elegant  stores,  palatial  residences,  boulevards,  parks, 
works  of  art,  gigantic  industries,  and  the  very  general  independence  of 
her  people,  her  glory  does  not  end.  She  has  elegant  retreats  for  those 
upon  whom  misfortune  has  laid  its  weighty  hand.  While  the  hands  of  her 
citizens  are  busy  in  the  work  of  making  the  grandest  city  in  the  world, 
their  hearts  are  always  hoarding  an  exhaustless  store  of  sympathy  and 
love  to  respond  to  the  demands  of  necessity;  and  those  institutions  which 
have  sprung  from  this  trait  of  Chicago  character  will  now  be  described, 
One  of  our  most  useful  and  noble  charities  is  the  Foundlings'  Home, 
located  on  Wood  street,  near  Madison.  This  institution  was  founded  by 
Dr.  George  E.  Shipman,  a  gentleman  of  noble  nature  and  high  character, 
whose  attention  was  attracted  to  the  need  of  such  a  charitv  in  1868-9,  by 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS   DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  407 

being  called  in  a  professional  capacity  to  visit  a  child  about  ten  days  old, 
which  had  been  found  on  one  of  our  wharves,  on  a  cold  Winter's  night, 
stark  naked.  It  was  with  the  utmost  difficulty  that  any  charitable  institu- 
tion then  existing  in  the  city  could  be  induced  to  receive  this  little  waif, 
and  this  should  not  be  a  cause  of  surprise.  No  institution  not  purposely 
established  for  such  work  could  do  it.  It  is  peculiar  in  character,  and  its 
special  requirements  can  be  met  only  through  special  provision.  At  the 
time  this  case  was  brought  to  the  notice  of  Dr.  Shipman,  the  coroner 
informed  him  that  he  held  an  inquest  on  about  one  foundling  a  day.  But 
although  the  Doctor  was  deeply  impressed  with  the  importance  of  making 
provision  for  this  helpless  class,  and  found  a  similar  feeling  among  those 
with  whom  he  conversed  upon  the  subject,  nothing  was  done  until 
January,  1871,  when  Dr.  Shipman  opened  the  Home  at  54  South  Green 
street.  Some  friends  sent  him  seventy-seven  dollars  and  thirty-eight 
cents,  and  a  patient  contributed  one  hundred  dollars  on  the  day  the  Home 
was  opened,  and  with  that  capital  and  Dr.  Shopman's  own  purse  and  kind 
Christian  heart,  this  great  charity  began  existence.  Within  two  months 
the  quarters  on  Green  street  were  found  to  be  inadequate,  and  the  Home 
was  moved  into  two  two-story  houses  at  the  corner  of  Randolph  and 
Sangamon  streets. 

In  the  Spring  of  1872  the  Relief  and  Aid  Society  proposed  to  con- 
tribute ten  thousand  dollars  toward  the  erection  of  a  building,  upon 
condition  that  Dr.  Shipman  would  have  the  institution  incorporated.  The 
proposition  being  entirely  acceptable,  the  Home  was  incorporated,  the  lot 
on  which  the  Home  now  stands  purchased,  and  the  present  building, 
costing  about  fifty  thousand  dollars,  erected,  and  occupied  in  May,  1874. 
The  Relief  and  Aid  Society  contributed  altogether  thirty  thousand 
dollars,  and  the  balance  of  the  money  required  for  the  erection  of  the 
building  was  donated  by  citizens,  much  of  it  being  collected  by  the  Ladies' 
Union  Aid  Society.  Dr.  Shipman  has  been  Superintendent,  and  has 
really  had  absolute  control  of  this  charity  from  its  inception. 

Since  it  was  opened,  it  has  cared  for  over  two  thousand  foundlings, 
and  expended  over  a  hundred  thousand  dollars.  Many  of  the  children 
have  been  adopted  into  families  of  wealth  and  influence,  and  in  all  respects 
the  work  of  the  institution  has  been  of  the  most  satisfactory  character. 
During  its  entire  existence  it  has  been  supported  by  voluntary  contribu- 
tions, no  fund  or  person  being  pledged  to  sustain  it. 

The  Illinois  St.  Andrews  Society  was  organized  January  26th,  1846, 
and,  perhaps,  should  be  placed  in  this  chapter.  In  February,  1853,  the 
society  was  incorporated  by  the  legislature  of  Illinois,  and  has  become  a 
powerful  and  useful  institution.  Its  object  is  to  aid  destitute  Scotch  people, 
and  it  performs  this  holy  duty  in  a  most  faithful  manner.  In  its  burial 
lot  at  Rose  Hill  cemetery,  sleep  nearly  a  hundred  people  for  whom  the 
society  has  performed  the  last  sad  rites.  The  natives  of  "  bonny  Scotland  '* 
are  a  sterling  class  of  our  population,  and  being  generous  withal,  St. 
Andrews  is  a  legitimate  outcome  of  noble  Scotch  nature.  It  not  only 


408 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS   DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 


dispenses  a  much  needed  charity,  and  gives  to  the  Scotchman,  who  may 
be  unfortunate,  a  feeling  of  independence,  but  is  a  real,  substantial  monu- 
ment to  the  nobler  impulses  of  the  human  heart. 

The  following  named  gentlemen  were  the  presidents  of  the  society  at 
the  dates  set  opposite  their  names : 


George  Steel 1846 

Alexander  Brand 1847 

James  Michie 1848 

Alexander  Brand 1 849 

George  Steel 1850 

Alexander  Brand i&51 

Alexander  Brand 1852 

George  Anderson 1853 

John  McGlashan 1854 

John  H.  Kedzie   1855 

John  Alston 1856 

John   Alston 1857 

Robert  Hervey 185' 


John  R.  Valentine 1860 

Dugald  Stewart 1861 

Robert  Hervey 1862 

Daniel  Cameron 1863 


William  James 1864 

Robert  Hervey 1865 

William  Stewart 1866 

Hugh  Macalister 1867 

Dr.  John  Macalister ib6S 

Robert  Hervey 1869 

Gen.  John  McArthur 1870 

Gen.  John  McArthur 1871 

Gen.  John  McArthur 1872 

Robert  Clark 1873 

Robert  Hervey 1874 

Robert  Hervey 1875 

Godfrey  McDonald 1876 


Andrew  Harvie 1859  Godfrey  McDonald 1877 


Daniel  R.  Cameron 1878 

Daniel  R.  Cameron.   1879 

Alexander  Kirk  land .1880 

Alexander  Kirklar.d. .  .  ..iSSi 


Of  these  George  Steel,  Alexander  Brand,  James  Michie,  John 
McGlashan,  Andrew  Harvie,  Daniel  Cameron,  Hugh  Macalister,  and 
Dr.  John  Macalister  are  dead. 

The  Illinois  Charitable  Eye  and  Ear  Infirmary  is  a  State  institution, 
located  at  the  corner  of  Adams  and  Peoria  streets.  In  the  fourth  biennial 
report  of  the  State  Board  of  Charities,  we  find  the  following  facts  con- 
cerning its  origin  and  development: 

"In  May,  1858,  four  medical  gentlemen  met  several  wealthy  and 
benevolent  citizens  of  Chicago,  who  together  organized  a  board  of  twelve 
trustees,  with  two  consulting  and  two  attending  surgeons,  under  a  consti- 
tution and  by-laws.  The  general  financial  depression  of  the  country  and 
the  excitement  during  the  earlier  period  of  the  late  war,  rendered  it  very 
difficult  to  obtain  funds  for  the  purchase  of  real  estate  and  for  the  erection 
of  a  suitable  building.  Hence  it  was  deemed  expedient  to  conduct  the 
institution  at  first  as  a  dispensary.  Consequently,  a  single  room,  in  a  small 
wooden  building,  at  the  northeast  corner  of  Michigan  and  North  Clark 
streets,  was  opened  for  the  treatment  of  the  poor.  During  the  first  year, 
about  one  hundred  and  fifteen  patients  were  under  treatment.  At  the 
end  of  nearly  four  years,  the  dispensary  was  removed  to  a  room,  28 
North  Clark  street,  where  it  remained  till  July,  1864." 

At  this  time  the  President  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  donated  to  the  use 
of  the  Infirmary,  for  ten  years,  a  lot  of- land  on  East  Pearson  street,  and 
a  commodious  wooden  building  was  purchased  for  two  thousand  dollars, 
and  removed  thereon.  The  first  patient  applying  for  treatment  was  com- 
pelled to  sleep  on  a  blanket  spread  upon  the  floor,  as  at  the  time  of  the 
application  the  rooms  had  not  been  furnished.  Within  two  days,  however, 
better  provision  was  made,  and  as  the  entrance  of  patients  demanded  it, 
rooms  were  furnished.  It  was  not  many  months  before  the  accommoda. 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS,  409 

tions  were  inadequate  for  the  necessities  of  the  work.  Many  from  the 
army  were  applying  for  treatment,  and  the  institution  was  overrun.  To 
meet  the  needs  of  the  hour  a  large  attic  was  finished  and  partitioned  into 
rooms.  After  awhjle  the  bu  Iding  was  raised,  and  a  brick  basement 
placed  under  it.  The  Governors  of  Illinois,  Wisconsin  and  Minnesota, 
each  had  donations  of  five  hundred  dollars,  contributed  for  the  purpose 
of  supporting  patients  from  these  States  in  the  Infirmary,  and  the  United 
States  Sanitary  Commission,  the  Northwestern  Sanitary  and  Christian 
Commissions  also  contributed  for  the  free  treatment  of  soldiers. 

In  1869  a  large  building  was  constructed  in  the  rear  of  the  lot,  and 
thus  additional  accommodations  were  afforded.  Through  the  liberality 
of  the  benevolent  the  institution  was  enabled  to  support  a  large  number 
of  patients,  and  not  only  to  pay  off  an  indebtedness  of  six  thousand 
dollars,  but  to  accumulate  a  fund  of  seven  thousand  dollars. 

The  legislature  of  Illinois  voted  to  appropriate  five  thousand  dollars 
a  year  from  1867  to  1871  for  the  support  of  patients,  and  in  the  last  named 
year  it  became  a  State  charity.  The  buildings  being  destroyed  by  the  great 
fire  of  this  year,  the  legislature  appropriated  a  sufficient  sum  to  open 
temporary  quarters. 

The  General  Assembly  appropriated,  from  time  to  time,  funds  to 
enable  the  trustees  to  complete  and  furnish  a  large  brick  structure  on  the 
corner  of  West  Adams  and  Peoria  streets.  The  land,  one  hundred  and 
forty-five  by  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  feet,  with  the  building,  includ- 
ing the  operating-room,  reception,  and  two  large  treatment-rooms  for 
out-patients,  cost  seventy-nine  thousand  three  hundred  dollars. 

The  building  easily  accommodates  one  hundred  patients,  and  is 
probably  inferior  to  no  similar  institution  in  the  world.  It  has  provided 
to  the  present  time  treatment  for  more  than  eighteen  thousand  poor 
patients. 

Mercy  Hospital  was  originally  opened  under  the  name  of  the  Illinois 
General  Hospital  of  the  Lakes,  under  a  charter  granted  by  the  legisla- 
ture. Dr.  N.  S.  Davis,  in  the  Summer  of  1850,  gave  a  series  of  lectures 
for  the  purpose  of  raising  funds  for  the  establishment  of  the  institution. 
With  the  money  thus  raised,  together  with  the  contributions  of  individuals, 
twelve  beds  were  placed  in  the  Lake  House,  situated  on  the  northeast 
corner  of  Rush  and  South  Water  streets,  and  the  hospital  was  opened 
for  patients.  Drs.  Davis  and  Brainard  were  the  physicians  in  charge. 

In  1851  the  management  of  the  institution  was  assumed  by  the 
Sisters  of  Mercy,  who  have  changed  its  name  to  the  one  it  now  bears. 
The  building  now  used  for  the  hospital  is  a  large  and  beautiful  structure 
at  the  corner  of  Calumet  avenue  and  Twenty-sixth  street,  capable  of 
accommodating  five  hundred  patients. 

Cook  County  Hospital  is  located  on  Harrison  and  Wood  streets,  and 
is  one  of  the  finest  and  best  managed  institutions  of  the  kind  in  the  country. 
The  present  elegant  buildings  were  finished  and  occupied  in  1877.  Previous 
to  the  completion  of  the  new  building  the  hospital  was  located  on  Arnold 


410  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

and  Eighteenth  streets.  The  original  building  erected  upon  this  latter 
site  was  a  result  of  the  cholera  epidemic  in  1854-5.  It  becoming  necessary 
to  meet  immediate  necessities,  a  cheap  frame  building  was  erected  by 
the  city  authorities.  There  was  no  intention  of  making  it  a  permanent 
institution.  Some  of  the  prominent  physicians  agitated  the  question  of 
erecting  buildings  for  constant  hospital  purposes.  After  the  cholera 
epidemic  had  subsided,  the  building  was  not  used  for  some  two  years,  the 
city  declining  to  care  for  any  cases  of  destitute  sickness,  except  of  con- 
tagious diseases,  but  compelling  the  county  to  do  it. 

In  1858,  however,  six  physicians  leased  the  building  and  converted 
it  into  a  public  hospital,  securing  a  contract  from  the  county  for  the  care 
of  the  destitute  sick.  In  1863 — Chicago  having  become  a  military  post,, 
which  it  continued  to  be  during  the  balance  of  the  war  of  the  rebellion — 
the  government  took  charge  of  the  hospital,  and  Drs.  Ross  and  Amer- 
man  had  charge  of  the  county's  sick,  under  the  directions  of  the  surgeon 
of  the  post.  The  institution  was  in  the  meantime  changed  into  a  Govern- 
ment Eye  and  Ear  Infirmary,  and  at  the  close  of  the  war  was  known  as 
the  DeMarr  Eye  and  Ear  Infirmary. 

Immediately  upon  the  close  of  the  war  efforts  were  made  to  re-estab- 
lish the  hospital.  In  1866  these  efforts  were  crowned  with  success,  and 
Cook  County  Hospital  was  established. 

The  Washingtonian  Home,  a  stately  building  at  the  junction  of 
Madison  street  and  Ogden  avenue,  was  established  in  1867.  Its  object 
is  to  aid  those  who  have  become  the  victims  of  intemperance  to  reform,, 
and  it  is  eminently  successful.  Its  beginning  was  naturally  of  small 
dimensions,  but  it  now  occupies  commodious  quarters. 

The  following  charitable  institutions  were  organized  at  the  dates 
named : 

St.  Joseph's  Orphan  Asylum,  1849;  House  of  the  Good  Shepherd, 
1859;  Home  for  the  Friendless,  1859;  Nursery  and  Half  Orphan  Asylum,, 
1860;  .St.  Luke's  -Hospital,  1863;  Old  People's  Home,  1865;  Erring 
Woman's  Refuge,  1865;  Alexian  Brothers'  Hospital,  1860;  Central  Dis- 
pensary, 1867;  St.  Joseph's  Hospital,  1869;  Uhlich  Evangelical  Lutheran 
Association,  1869;  Woman's  Hospital  Medical  College,  1870;  Woman's 
Hospital  State  of  Illinois,  1871;  Cook  County  Department  of  Public 
Charities,  1872;  Orphan  Girl's  Home,  1874. 

The  Chicago  Hospital  for  Women  and  Children,  corner  of  Paulina 
and  West  Adams  streets,  was  opened  May  8th,  1865,  on  the  corner  of 
Rush  and  Indiana  streets,  with  a  capacity  of  fourteen  beds.  Its  objects 
were:  First,  to  afford  a  home  for  women  and  children  among  the 
respectable  poor  in  neeJ  of  medical  and  surgical  treatment.  Second,  to 
sustain  a  free  dispensary  for  the  benefit  of  the  same  class.  Third,  as 
incidental  to  the  above  to  train  women  to  become  competent  nurses. 

Among  its  earliest  friends  were  Reverend  Dr.  Ryder,  who  called  the 
first  meeting,  and  ever  after  retained  a  warm  interest  in  the  institution;  Mrs. 
M.  13.  Dyas,  who  was  always  a  sincere  and  faithful  worker;  F.  B.  Gardner,. 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  411 

who  collected  and  donated  the  first  one  thousand  dollars;  and  also  Dr.  W. 
G.  Dyas,  Mrs.  E.  J.  Colby,  Mrs.  Geo.  Hall,  and  until  their  removal  from 
the  city,  Dr.  S.  C.  Blake  and  Reverend  Dr.  Tiffany.  Gilbert  Hubbard 
has  been  from  an  early  day  one  of  the  most  efficient  and  generous  sup- 
porters of  the  hospital. 

The  hospital,  then  located  at  402  North  State  street,  was  burned  in 
the  great  fire  of  1871.  Though  everything  was  lost  except  patients,  it  was 
re-opened  in  two  days,  by  the  Relief  and  Aid  Society,  on  West  Adams 
street,  for  the  benefit  of  sufferers  by  the  fire,  but  was  soon  moved  into  the 
barracks  for  a  few  months,  to  secure  greater  accommodations.  With 
what  was  collected  in  the  East,  and  what  the  Relief  and  Aid  Society 
gave  after  the  fire,  the  present  house  and  lot  were  purchased.  The  house 
was  refitted  and  a  basement  added.  The  lot  is  one  hundred  and  thirty 
by  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet.  Since  its  removal  there  during  the  Winter 
of  1872-3,  an  average  of  twenty-five  patients  have  been  constantly  cared 
for  in  the  hospital. 

The  medical  staff  as  first  organized  included  among  others  the  follow- 
ing, who  still  retain  their  positions: 

Mary  H.  Thompson,  M.  D.,  Attending  Physician  and  Surgeon. 
Consulting  Physicians  and  Surgeons:  W.  G.  Dyas,  F.R.S.,  M.D.;  C.  G, 
Smith,  M.  D.;  John  Bartlett,  M.  D.;  A.  Fisher,  M.  D.;  Thomas  Bevan, 
M.  D.;  E.  Marguirat,  M.  D. 

To  this  number  have  since  been  added:  W.  E.  Clark,  M.  D. ;  W.  H. 
Byford,  A.  M.,  M.  D.;  R.  G.  Bogue,  M.  D.;  C.  G.  Paoli,  M.  D.;  F.  C. 
Hotz,  M.  D. ;  A.  H.  Foster,  M.  D.,  and  Sarah  H.  Stevenson,  M.  D.,  who 
also  holds  the  place  of  Attending  Physician. 

Women  medical  students  and  graduates  have  always  been  the  attend- 
ants of  the  hospital,  with  the  exception  of  six  young  men — students  and 
graduates  of  medicine — who  were  employed  in  the  early  years  of  the 
institution,  before  the  services  of  women  students  could  be  secured. 

The  hospital  is  now  one  of  the  permanent  incorporated  institutions 
of  the  city,  and  is  widely  known  as  a  public  charity  doing  a  large  amount 
of  work  for  the  money  expended. 

The  officers  of  the  present  Board  of  Trustees  are  W.  H.  Byford, 
A.  M.,  M.  D.,  President;  Reverend  Dr.  Ryder,  Vice  President;  John 
Crerar,  Secretary;  Gilbert  Hubbard,  Treasurer. 

The  Board  of  Councilors,  who  manage  the  hospital  and  provide 
funds  for  current  expenses,  have  as  their  officers:  Mrs.  J.  C.  Hilton,  Presi- 
dent; Mrs.  J.  McGregor  Adams,  Vice  President;  Mrs.  John  Wilkinson, 
Treasurer;  Mrs.  F.  B.  Williams,  Secretary. 

Patients  applying  for  admission  are  chiefly  those  whose  pride  of 
character  leads  them  to  shrink  from  entering  the  more  public  wards  of  the 
County  Hospital.  They  include  sewing  women,  domestics,  female  em- 
ployes in  stores  and  manufactories,  penniless  widows  and  deserted  wives. 
Occasionally  orphans  and  half-orphans  are  received.  Less  than  one-tenth 
of  the  number  of  patients  admitted  pay  the  small  sum  of  five  dollars  per 


412 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 


week  for  board,  while  nine-tenths  have  been  provided  with  board,  medi- 
cines and  medical  attendance  free.  Patients  treated  in  the  dispensary 
received  medicines  free  until  about  three  years  ago,  since  when  only  the 
most  urgent  cases  have  been  given  medicines.  This  dispensary  should 
be  sustained  free  of  charge  for  the  benefit  of  women  preferring  to  be  treated 
by  their  own  sex,  and  unable  to  pay  the  ordinary  fees  at  the  office  of  a  lady 
physician. 

From  its  first  inception  nurses  have  been  trained  and  sent  out,  and 
it  is  gratifying  to  note  a  marked  improvement  in  the  class  of  persons 
offering  themselves  for  such  work.  Of  late  years  young  women  with 
health,  ability  and  zeal,  have  received  instruction  with  highly  satisfactory 
results.  Four  years  ago  the  medical  staff  began  to  give  an  annual  course 
of  lectures  to  nurses,  which  at  regular  periods  have  been  continued  to  date. 

The  objects  for  which  the  hospital  was  opened  have  been  carried  out 
as  far  as  the  means  contributed  would  allow.  Over  eleven  thousand 
patients  in  all  have  been  treated,  the  time  of  their  residence  in  the  hospital 
varying  from  a  few  weeks  to  a  year  and  a  half. 


413 


CHAPTER  XXX. 


POEMS    DEDICATED    TO    CHICAGO. 

The  fire  of  1871  called  forth  amidst  an  avalanche  of  rhyme,  some 
beautiful  verses  from  the  pens  of  our  finest  writers,  and  our  people  will 
always  feel  that  they  are  so  distinctly  the  property  of  Chicago,  that  they 
should  be  preserved  in  any  work  of  this  character.  The  heart  of  the 
poet  is  ever  as  gentle  as  the  sunbeam,  and  a  calamity  like  that  which 
visited  our  ill-fated  city  in  the  Autumn  of  1871,  inspires  his  sweetest  and 
loftiest  thoughts.  America's  Quaker  poet  could  never  keep  silent  under 
such  distressing  circumstances.  The  heart  that  for  a  long  life  had  throbbed 
with  melting  sympathy  for  the  unfortunate  in  all  lands,  and  the  pen  which 
had  crayoned  in  verse  the  loveliest  pictures  of  liberty  that  eye  ever  beheld, 
could  not  be  mute  in  the  glare  of  burning  Chicago.  He  who  had  written 
so  much  to  touch  the  heart  .and.  cheer  on  the  world  to  the  accomplishment 
of  nobler  deeds,  wrote  to  cheer  the  hearts  of  our  people  when  they  were 
hesitating  between  hope  and  despair.  For  h  m  and  for  the  others  who 
spoke  to  us  in  verse,  Chicago  cherishes  a  feeling  of  admiration  and  rever- 
ence. 

CHICAGO. 


BY   JOHN    G.    WHITTIER. 

Men  said  at  vespers:  All  is  well! 

In  one  wild  night  the  city  fell; 

Fell  shrines  of  prayer  and  marts  of  gain 

Before  the  fiery  hurricane. 

On  threscore  spires  had  sunset  shone, 
Where  ghastly  sunrise  looked  on  none; 
Men  clasped  each  other's  hands,  and  said: 
^  The  City  of  the  West  is  dead ! 

Brave  hearts  who  fought,  in  slow  retreat, 
The  fiends  of  fire  from  street  to  street, 
Turned,  powerless,  to  the  blinding  glare, 
The  dumb  defiance  of  despair. 

A  sudden  impulse  thrilled  each  wire 
That  signaled  round  that  sea  of  fire ; — 
Swift  words  of  cheer,  warm  heart-throbs  came; 
In  tears  of  pity  died  the  flame! 

From  East,  from  West,  from  South  and  North, 
The  messages  of  hope  shot  forth, 


4H  CHICAGO  AND  ITS   DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

And  underneath  the  severing  wave, 
The  world,  full-handed,  reached  to  save. 

Fair  seemed  the  old;  but  fairer  still 
•          The  new  the  dreary  void  shall  fill, 
|         With  dearer  homes  than  those  o'erthrown, 
For  love  shall  lay  each  corner-stone. 

Rise,  stricken  city!  —  from  thee  throw 
The  ashen  sackcloth  of  thy  woe  ; 
And  build,  as  Thebes  to  Amphion's  strain, 
To  songs  of  cheer  thy  walls.  again! 

How  shrivelled  in  thy  hot  distress 
The  primal  sin  of  selfishness  l\ 
How  instant  rose,  to  take  thy  part, 
The  angel  in  the  human  heart! 

Ah!  not  in  vain  the  flames  that  tossed 
Above  thy  dreadful  holocaust; 
The  Christ  again  has  preached  through  thee 
The  Gospel  of  humanity  ! 

Then  lift  once  more  thy  towers  on  high, 
And  fret  with  spires  the  western  sky, 
To  tell  that  God  is  yet  with  us, 
And  love  is  still  miraculous! 


THE    SMITTEN  GITY/ 


BY    GEORGE    ALFRED    TOWNSEND. 

I  heard  a  parson  of  the  school  of  Baalam 

Lift  up  the  lesson  of  the  flaming  town, 
And,  like  a  peddler  in  the  will  of  Heaven, 

Show  how  its  sins  invoked  the  Sovereign  frown. 

Thus  the  dead  lion  ever  is  insulted 

By  as'ses'  colts,  whose  pity  is  a  blow, 
And  fallen  empires  find  their  last  misfortune 

In  shallow  platitudes  from  fool  and  foe. 

Bright,  Christian  capital  of  lakes  and  prairie, 

Heaven  had  no  interest  in  thy  scourge  and  scath ; 
Thou  wert  the  newest  shrine  of  our  religion, 

The  youngest  witness  of  our  hope  and  faith.  —  *  . 

Not  in  thy  embers  do  we  rake  for  folly,  * 

But  like  a  martyr's  ashes  gather  thee, 
With  chastened  pride  and  tender  melancholy, — 

The  miracle  thou  wast,  and  yet  will  be! 

Not  merely  in  the  homages  of  churches, 

Or  bells  of  praise  tolled  o'er  the  inland  seas, — 
•Thou  glorified  our  God  and  human  nature 
With  meeter  works  and  grander  melodies. 

Of  cheerful  toil  and  willing  enterprises, 
Of  hearty  faith  in  freedom  and  in  man; 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  4J5 

The  hoar  old  capitals  looked  on  in  wonder 

To  see  the  swift  strong  race  this  stripling  ran. 
How  like  the  sun  he  rose  above  the  marshes, 

And  built  the  world  beneath  his  airy  feet, 
And  changed  the  course  of  immemorial  rivers, 

And  tapped  the  lakes  for  water  cool  and  sweet. 
How  skillfully  the  golden  grain  transmuted 

To  birds  of  sail  and  meteors  of  spark, 
And,  like  another  Noah,  bade  creation 

March  in  the  teeming  mazes  of  his  ark. 

Yet  in  his  power,  most  frank  and  democratic, 

He  roused  no  envious  witness  of  his  joy, 
And  in  the  stature  of  the  Prince  and  hero, 

We  saw  the  laughing 'dimples  of  a  boy. 

Still  wise  and  apt  among  the  oldest  merchants, 

His  young  example  steered  the  wary  mart, 
And  amplest  credit  poured  its  gold  around  him, 

And  trade  imperial  gave  scope  for  art. 

His  architectures  passed  all  heathen  splendor, 

The  immigrating  Goth  drew  wandering  near; 
To  see  his  shafts  and  arches  tall  and  slender 

Branch  o'er  the  new  homes  of  this  pioneer. 

The  Greek  and  Rojman  there  might  see  rebuilded 

In  vastness  equal  and  in  style  as  pure, 
The"rhercrran.ts'  markets  like  a  palace  gilded, 

With  marble  walls  and  deep  entablature. 

His  two  score  bridges  swinging  on  their  pivots, 

The  long  and  laden  line  of  vessels  sped, 
While  he,  impatient,  marched  beneath  the  sluice, 

His  hosts,  like  Cyrus,  in  the  river's  bed. 

Then,  when  all  weak  predictions  proved  but  scandal,         ' 

And  the  wild  marshes  grew  a  sovereign's  home, 
A  dozing  cow  o'erset  an  urchin's  candle, — 

Once  more  a  fool  fired  the  Ephesian  dome. 

The  artless  winds  that  blow  o'er  plains  of  cattle, 
And  cooled  the  corn  through  all  the  Summer  days, 

Plunged  like  wild  steeds  in  pastime  or  in  battle, 
Straight  in  the  blinding  brightness  of  the  blaze. 

And  down  fell  bridge,  and  parapet,  and  lintel, 

The  blazing  barques  went  drifting,  one  by  one ; 
The  mighty  city  wrapped  its  head  in  splendor, 

And  sank  into  the  waters  like  a  sun ! 

V 

Oh !  thou,  my  master,  champion  of  the  people. 

TRIBUNE  august,  who  o'er  kept  righteous  court, 
Long  after  fire  had  toppled  church  and  steeple, 
Thou  stood'st  amidst  the  ruins  like  a  fort. 

High  and  serene  thy  cornices  extended, 

Though  scorched  by  smoke  and  of  the  flame  the  prey, 

Above  the  vault  where,  grim  and  calm,  and  splendid, 
The  sleeping  lions  of  thy  presses  lay. 


416  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

Till  looking  round  on  the  wondrous  pity, 
Thyself  alone  erect,  intact,  upreared, 

Disdaining  to  outlive  the  glorious  city, 
With  innate  heat  transfigured,  disappeared. 

Yet,  from  the  grave  Chicago's  wondrous  spirit 

Comes  forth  all  brightness,  o'er  the  darkened  town, 

To  say  again:  "Lo!  I  am  with  you  brethren; 
With  all  thy  thorns,  I  wear  my  civic  crown. 

"To  die  is  sweet  embalmed  in  your  compassion; 

Your  oil  and  wine  make  life  in  every  rent. 
Oh !  let  me  lean  a  little  while  upon  you, 

And  walk  to  strength  in  your  encouragement." 


CHICAGO. 


BY    BRET    HARTE. 

Blackened  and  pleading,  helpless,  panting,  prone, 
On  the  charred  fragments  of  her  shattered  throne, 
Lies  she  who  stood  but  yesterday  alone. 

Queen  of  the  West;  by  some  enchanter  taught, 

To  lift  the  glory  of  Aladdin's  court, 

Then  lose  the  spell  that  all  that  wonder  wrought. 

Like  her  own  prairies  by  some  chance  seed  sown, 
Like  her  own  prairies  in  one  brief  day  grown, 
Like  her  own  prairies  in  one  fierce  night  mown. 

She  lifts  her  voice  and  in  her  pleading  calls, 
We  hear  the  cry  of  Macedon  to  Paul, 
The  cry  for  help  that  makes  her  kin  to  all. 

But  happy  with  wan  fingers  mav  she  feel 
The  silver  cup  hid  in  the  proffered  meal, 
The  gifts  her  kinship  and  our  loves  reveal. 


OUT  OF  THE    ASHES. 


BY    HOWARD    GLYNDON. 
Oh!  fallen  with  the  falling  leaves, 

And  level  with  the  dust  as  they ! 
Thy  beauty,  City  of  the  lake, 

Is  but  a  thing  of  yesterday. 

Thou  wondrous  blossom  of  the  West ! 

We  were  so  passing  proud  of  thee : 
"See,"  said  we  to  the  elder  world, 

"How  cities  grow  when  men  are  free." 

Thy  senior  sisters,  looking  on 

With  dazed,  half  unbelieving  eyes 

Saw  thee,  like  Hercules  of  old, 
Swift  into  ripe  estate  arise. 

And  seeing  thee  so  fair,  how.  high 
The  hearts  of  all  thy  children  were! 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  417 

We  would  not  blame  them  if  to-day 
They  bowed  their  faces  in  despair; 

Or.  newly  risen  from  troubled  sleep, 

Stared,  with  uncomprehending  eyes, 
On  homesteads  smoldering,  black  and  bare, 

Beneath  the  mild  October  skies; 

Where,  here  and  there,  but  yesterday 

Towered  up  such  sumptuous  witnesses 
Of  their  devoted  hearts  and  hands — 

God  help  them  in  this  sore  distress ! 

And  saying  this,  the  Nation  takes 

These  homeless  children  of  the  West 
Into  her  motherly  embrace, 

And  hides  the  homeless  in  her  breast. 

Not  homeless  while  our  homes  have  room ! 

Not  homeless — all  our  doors  are  wide ! 
The  welcome  that  we  send  to-day 

Is  tinctured  with  exulting  pride. 

For  who  has  heard  one  craven  cry, 

Though  thousands  wander  lorn  and  pale? 
Oh  !  strong  young  city,  sorest  tried, 

There's  bravery  even  in  thy  wail. 

To  where  thou  sitt'st  we  bring  the  world, 

And  show  thy  ruins,  saying,  "See  ! 
She  is  not  broken,  only  bent; 

For  hearts  are  strong  when  men  are  free." 


PARIS  AND  CHICAGO. 


BY    WM.    CULLEN    BRYANT. 
O  bird  with  a  crimson  wing 

And  a  brand  in  thy  glowing  beak, 
Why  did'st  thou  nutter  o'er  seas  to  bring 

A  woe  that  we  dare  not  speak  ? 

By  the  light  of  a  flaming  sword, 

Did  the  beautiful  Queen  of  the  East 

Behold  the  awful  avenging  word, 
And  drink  the  blood  of  the  feast. 

Her  fires  went  out  on  the  hearth, 

And. the  glory  of  Paris  has  fled; 
Could  her  maddening  wiles  and  unseemly  mirth, 

Unstop  the  ears  of  the  dead ! 

Did  out  of  her  ashes  arise 

This  bird  with  a  flaming  crest, 
That  over  the  ocean  unhindered  flies, 

With  a  scourge  for  the  Queen  of  the  West? 

See  homes  at  its  bidding  fall ! 
At  its  fiery  fierce  attack ! 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

While  the  fiends  of  the  air  hold  carnival 
In  the  light  of  its  lurid  track. 

The  joys  that  were  held  so  dear, 

On  the  glow  of  its  breath  expire; 
While  treasures  and  palaces  disappear, 

Consumed  by  its  vengeful  ire. 

Fly  hence  on  thy  wing  of  flame, 

O  bird !  for  thy  work  is  done; 
And  the  queens  of  a  different  clime  and  name 

In  their  ruin  and  grief  are  one. 


4'9 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 


SPORTING    REMINISCENCES. 

The  following  letter  to  the  CHICAGO  TRIBUNE  by  Charles  Cleaver, 
an  old  resident,  possesses  so  much  interest  that  we  give  it  place  here: 

"I  must  acknowledge  that,  like  most  Englishmen,  in  my  youthful 
days  I  was  fond  of  all  kinds  of  field-sporting,  yet  I  never  let  pleasure 
interfere  with  business,  as  many  young  men  do  now-a-days,  but  all  my 
hunting  and  fishing  was  done  when  I  had  nothing  else  to  do.  Both  fish- 
ing and  shooting,  however,  were  very  different  things  in  those  early  days 
from  what  they  are  now,  as  the  game  was  close  at  hand.  Having  my 
attention  called  to  it  by  an  article  recently  published,  I  will  jot  down  a  few 
memories  of  the  past.  When  we  came  over  from  London,  in  1833,  we 
not  only  brought  guns  and  rifles,  but  some  good  bred  dogs.  We  had 
a  foxhound,  greyhound,  setter,  pointer  and  spaniel.  Such  dogs  were  then 
very  scarce  in  America;  and  they,  of  course,  on  our  arrival  here,  at  the 
very  outskirts  of  civilization,. soon  brought  us  more  or  less  in  connection 
with  others  who  were  fond  of  such  sports.  On  our  arrival  in  New  York, 
March  I3th,  1833,  it  being  too  early  for  the  canal-opening,  we  had  to  wait 
until  the  twenty-second  of  April,  during  which  time  we  made  several 
excursions  to  Brooklyn  and  Hoboken  with  dogs  and  guns  in  search 
of  game,  but  without  success,  except  the  shooting  of  a  few  v/oodcock 
in  New  Jersey.  Game  of  any  kind  seemed  to  be  very  scarce,  although 
the  country  was  then  occupied  by  farmers  and  market  gardeners.  When 
we  arrived  in  Buffalo,  where  we  stayed  some  three  or  four  months,  from 
May  to  August,  we  had  more  sport.  Pigeons  were  plenty  in  the  woods, 
and  fishing  was  really  splendid.  Many  a  time  did  my&lf  and  friend  walk 
three  miles  to  the  rapids  at  Black  Rock,  and  return  before  breakfast  with 
thirty  or  forty  pounds  of  fish  hanging  on  a  pole  between  us,  some  of  them 
weighing  five  or  six  pounds  each;  and,  as  we  pulled  them  out  of  the  water, 
their  scales  shining  and  shimmering  in  the  Summer  sun,  the  very  sight 
of  them  would  have  made  an  epicure's  mouth  water. 

When  we  arrived  in  Chicago,  in  October,  we  soon  began  to  take 
part  in  the  sport  then  in  vogue  in  the  village.  The  foxhound  soon  proved 
one  of  the  best  wolf  dogs  in  Chicago.  The  captain  of  the  garrison,  whom 
we  met  at  White  Pigeon  Prairie,  while  acknowledging  the  merits  of  our 
noble  hound,  yet  declared  he  had  a  dog  in  Chicago  that  would  dive 
deeper,  come  up  drier,  and  catch  more  wolves  than  any  dog  in  America; 
and  he  would  like  to  see  the  man  that  disputed  it.  I  rather  think  he  had 


420  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

been  a  little  too  near  the  corner  of  the  bar-room  where  the  bottles  were 
kept,  for  his  own  good,  when  he  made  that  assertion.  But,  on  our  arrival 
in  Chicago,  we  found  him  a  first-rate  fellow,  and  his  dog  all  he  had 
claimed  for  him.  He  was  a  mixture  of  lurcher  and  greyhound,  of  very 
powerful  build,  and,  they  said,  had  killed  one  hundred  and  fifty  wolves 
in  his  day. 

The  way  we  broke  our  foxhound  was  rather  unique.  We  lived,  that 
first  Winter  on  the  North  Side,  about  the  corner  of  Kinzie  and  Rush 
streets.  It  was  all  heavily  timbered  down  to  the  river-bank,  between  the 
North  Branch  and  the  lake,  for  some  miles  out.  A  neighbor  having  lost 
a  calf,  the  wolves  came  prowling  round,  making  night  hideous  with  their 
quarreling  and  howling  over  its  carcass;  so  we  took  possession  of  it, 
dragged  it  farther  into  the  woods,  and  set  two  or  three  spring-traps  around 
it,  covering  them  from  sight  with  the  scattered  leaves.  The  first  night 
one  trap  was  sprung,  but  with  no  wolf  in  it.  The  second  we  were  more 
successful,  being  rewarded  in  the  morning  by  seeing  a  large  wolf  caught 
by  his  hind  leg,  which  he  had  nearly  cut  to  the  bone  in  his  efforts  to 
escape;  but  we  were  too  elated  at  our  success  to  trouble  ourselves  about 
that.  We  started  back  to  the  house,  got  a  large  bag,  and  a  rope,  in  the 
middle  of  which  we  put  a  slip-noose;  and  one  getting  at  each  end  of 
the  rope,  soon  succeeded  it  getting  it  over  his  head  and  around  his  neck, 
which  we  began  to  squeeze  rather  too  tight  for  comfort,  in  spite  of  his 
snapping  jaws,  which  might  have  been  heard  a  block  off.  By  each  one 
getting  close  to  him,  we  easily  lifted  him  into  the  sack,  and  carried  him 
home.  After  breakfast  we  crossed  the  river  in  a  canoe,  for  the  prairie 
about  the  corner  of  Wabash  avenue  and  Randolph  street,  accompanied 
by  two  dogs,  the  foxhound  and  greyhound.  We  then  turned  the  wolf 
out,  giving  him  a  hundred  yards  start  before  we  let  the  dogs  after  him. 
He  made  fast  time  for  the  woods  on  the  South  Branch.  The  greyhound, 
with  his  superior  speed,  soon  caught  him,  and  biting  his  haunch,  brought 
him  to  bay,  when  the  foxhound,  coming  up,  took  hold  of  him  by  the  neck, 
and  never  gave  up  the  fight  until  she  laid  him  dead  at  our  feet.  The  grey- 
hound, getting  his  Jaw  locked  with  the  wolf's,  wanted  no  more  of  it,  and 
stood  calmly  by  wmle  the  other  killed  him. 

This  was  my  first  affair  with  wolves.  They  were  then  very  numer- 
ous. In  crossing  from  Clark  street  to  Cly bourn  bridge,  through  the 
woods,  one  time,  I  saw  five  of  them  devouring  the  remains  of  a  cow. 
They  looked  so  savage  that,  having  no  gun  with  me,  I  thought  discretion 
the  better  part  of  valor,  and  made  considerable  of  a  detour  to  avoid  them, 
though  I  never  heard  of  them  attacking  any  person.  I  often  came  across 
three  or  four  on  the  road  between  Elston's  and  Lake  street  bridge,  sitting 
in  the  road,  baying  at  the  moon. 

The  officers  of  the  garrison,  having  nothing  much  to  do,  used  to  kill 
large  numbers  of  them.  They  met  every  Wednesday,  with  others,  on 
horseback,  and  eight  or  ten  dogs  with  them,  in  front  of  the  old  Sauganash, 
on  Market  street,  then  kept  by  Mark  Beaubien,  who  still  may  be  seen  at 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  421 

times,  playing  the  same  old  fiddle  with  which  he  used  to  electrify  and 
amuse  his  patrons  in  the  bar-room,  forty-six  or  seven  years  since.  Here 
they  organized  for  the  day's  hunt,  and  often  killed  five  or  six  wolves 
before  night. 

Once,  when  I  was  coming  down  in  the  stage  from  Milwaukee,  the 
snow  being  very  deep,  and  the  sleighing  excellent,  as  it  had  been  for  some 
weeks — so  much  so  that  Frink  &  Walker's  horses  had  grown  fat  and  frisky, 
and  consequently  were  in  good  running  order — there  happened  to  be  no 
one  in  the  sleigh  but  myself,  and  the  driver  was  hardly  able  to  control  his 
four  spirited  horses.  When  about  six  miles  from  town,  we  saw  a  large 
wolf  making  his  tedious  way  through  the  snow,  evidently  pretty  well 
tired  out.  He  came  into  the  track  a  short  distance  ahead  of  us  and  laid 
down.  I  suggested  to  the  driver  that  we  might  have  a  first-rate  wolf- 
hunt,  as  I  knew,  after  his  late  experience,  he  would  keep  to  the  smooth 
track  as  long  as  he  could,  and  when  he  turned  out,  I  was  to  jump  off  and 
kill  him  with  an  ax-handle,  a  dozen  of  which  happened  to  be  in  the  sleigh. 
The  horses  soon  increased  their  speed,  seeming  to  enjoy  it  as  much  as 
ourselves,  and  got  into  a  full  gallop  after  the  wolf,  who  ran  them  a  splendid 
race  for  a  couple  of  miles,  when  he  turned  out,  and  I,  in  the  excitement 
of  the  chase  forgetting  the  great  speed  at  which  we  were  going,  accord- 
ing to  the  programme,  jumped  from  the  sleigh,  and  rolled  over  and  over 
in  two  feet  of  snow.  When  I  recovered  myself,  the  stage  was  half  a  mile 
ahead  and  the  wolf  fifty  feet  behind  me,  lay  panting  on  the  snow.  When 
I  began  to  approach  him  he  showed  such  a  splendid  row  of  teeth  in  his 
jaws,  and  snapped  them  in  such  a  significant  manner,  that  I  thought 
I  might  as  well  leave  him,  as  evening  was  coming  on,  and  I  had  to  walk 
two  or  three  miles  to  the  nearest  house.  The  horses  had  got  past  all  con- 
trol, and  never  stopped  until  they  got  to  Powell's  Tavern,  their  usual 
watering-place,,  about  two  and  one-half  miles  from  the  village.  The 
driver,  however,  put  them  on  the  back  track  to  meet  me,  expecting,  as 
he  said,  to  find  me  skinning  the  wolf;  but  in  that  he  was  mistaken. 

I  remember  one  other  instance  of  a  wolf-hunt  in  which  I  was 
engaged.  It  was  usual,  in  those  early  times,  to  cut  oyr  own  hay  on  the 
prairie ;  and  having  a  couple  of  men  mowing  near  Haixlscrable,  as  it  was 
then  called,  about  Twenty-second  street  and  Blue  Island  avenue,  I  drove 
out  to  get  a  load ;  and,  when  jogging  along  homeward,  about  the  corner 
of  Halsted  and  Twelfth  streets,  I  saw  a  large  wolf  digging  away  at  a  great 
rate  after  a  chipmunk,  or  something  of  the  kind.  I  stopped  and  shouted 
at  him  several  times;  but  he  was  so  intent  upon  what  he  was  about — no 
doubt  being  hungry  for  his  dinner — that  he  took  no  notice  of  me.  'Oh! 
oh!  my  fine  fellow!  so  you  won't  leave,  won't  you?  I  will  just  see  what 
I  can  do  to  make  you.'  So,  slipping  off  my  load,  I  took  one  of  the  horses 
from  the  wagon,  stripped  her  of  the  harness  except  the  bridle,  jumped  on 
her  back,  and  away  I  went  pell-mell  across  the  prairie  after  Mr.  Wolf. 
It  d'.d  not  take  long  for  him  to  move  when  he  saw  what  I  was  after,  and 
I  gave  him  most  likely  the  hardest  run  he  ever  had  in  his  life  for  a  mile 


422  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

or  more;  and,  had  it  not  been  for  a  neighboring  swamp,  in  which  he  took 
refuge,  I  should  certainly  have  caught  him,  for  I  was  armed  with  a  pitch- 
fork,  which  I  carried  in  my  right  hand  ready  to  plunge  into  him,  and 
was  close  upon  his  heels  when  my  horse's  sinking  fetlock  deep  in  the  soft 
earth  warned  me  to  desist,  much  against  my  will. 

1  was  going  up  to  Milwaukee  in  one  of  the  large  steamers,  and  was 
sitting  reading  in  the  cabin,  when  the  captain  rushed  in,  evidently  very 
much  excited,  snatched  his  glass  from  the  table,  and  in  answer  to  my 
inquiry  of  what  was  the  matter,  said  there  was  something  in  the  lake 
about  two  miles  ahead,  and  they  could  not  make  out  what  it  was.  Of 
course  my  book  was  dropped  in  a  moment,  and  I  hastened  after  the  captain 
to  the  bow  of  the  boat,  where  I  found  most  of  the  few  passengers  on 
board  anxiously  trying  to  make  out  this  strange  object.  Those  used  to 
sailing  can  form  some  idea  of  the  commotion  caused  on  board  a  craft  when 
anything  unusual  is  sighted.  The  captain,  after  examination  by  glass, 
first  said  it  was  a  horse,  then  a  deer,  and  on  getting  nearer,  declared  it  to 
be  a  bear,  and  decided  at  once  that  he  would  catch  him  at  all  hazard,  and 
calling  for  volunteers,  found  no  lack  of  men  willing  to  undertake  the 
task.  So  the  small  boat  was  lowered,  with  four  stalwart  sailors  at  the  oars, 
the  mate  at  the  helm,  and  a  man  at  the  bow  with  a  rope,  in  which  he 
made  a  slip-noose.  They  started  for  poor  Bruin,  who,  when  he  found 
they  were  after  him,  made  most  excellent  time  for  the  middle  of  the  lake, 
and  for  a  mile  or  two  led  them  a  splendid  race  before  they  came  up  with 
him.  After  two  or  three  attempts  the  man  at  the  bow  threw  the  fatal 
noose  over  his  head.  Directly  the  bear  found  he  was  caught,  he  turned 
and  made  for  the  boat,  evidently  intending  to  carry  the  war  into  the 
enemy's  camp;  but  they  were  too  quick  for  him,  not  liking  the  idea 
of  having  him  for  a  passenger.  So  they  turned  and  rowed  for  the 
steamer  with  all  their  might.  This  brought  poor  Bruin's  nose  under 
the  water,  and  by  the  time  they  reached  the  steamboat,  which  had  been 
following  pretty  close  in  the  wake  of  the  pursuers,  he  was  almost  drowned. 
The  rope  was  thrown  to  us  on  deck,  onto  which  we  soon  hauled  him, 
and  then  held  a  council  of  war  as  to  what  should  be  done  with  him.  It 
was  at  first  suggested  that  he  should  be  chained  up,  and  a  large  chain  was 
brought  and  put  round  his  neck.  Then  some  ladies  came  to  look  at  him, 
and  exclaimed,  1O,  the  horrid  great  creature!  do  kill  him!'  Some  person 
standing  by  put  his  hand  on  the  animal's  head,  and  said  he  was  fast 
recovering,  and  if  he  was  not  killed,  would  soon  be  master  of  the  boat. 
On  which  a  bevy  of  female  and  some  male  voices  cried  out  to  the  captain 
to  have  him  killed  at.  once.  On  a  butcher  offering  to  do  the  job,  the 
captain  consented,  and  the  bear  was  doomed  to  have  his  throat  cut  and 
die  as  ignominious  a  death  as  any  common  porker.  He  was  a  noble  fel- 
low, black  and  tan,  seven  or  eight  feet  in  length,  and  when  he  was  skinned, 
showing  such  claws  and  muscles  that  the  volunteers  rejoiced  that  he  did 
not  make  good  his  entry  into  the  boat,  for  he  would  certainly  have  driven 
them  into  the  water  if  they  had  escaped  his  claws  and  teeth.  On  my 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS   DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  423 

return  by  land  two  days  after,  I  made  several  inquiries,  and  was  told  he 
was  driven  into  the  lake  the  morning  before;  but  I  always  doubted  the 
truth  of  his  swimming  in  the  water  all  night  and  half  the  next  day;  so 
am  inclined  to  the  opinion  that  he  was  driven  in  that  same  morning,  and 
being  watched  from  the  shore,  put  well  out  into  the  lake  for  safety.  Cer- 
tain it  is  that  when  first  seen  by  us  he  was  swimming  from  shore,  and  was 
full  five  miles  out. 

It  is  a  fact  that  I  speared  an  extraordinarily  large  muskallonge 
about  four  or  five  miles  up  the  North  Branch  of  the  river.  'The  North 
Branch  of  the  river!'  I  think  I  hear  some  one  exclaim;  'that  horrid  cess- 
pool of  filth  and  turbid  water!  A  nice  place  to  fish!'  But  you  must 
remember  it  was  not  always  so.  In  those  early  times  it  was  a  clear, 
sparkling  stream,  with  quite  a  strong  current,  especially  near  the  dam, 
five  miles  from  the  city,  over  which  the  water  rippled  and  ran,  making 
a  soft,  soothing,  murmuring  sound,  heard  on  that  still  Winter's  night  for 
a  considerable  time  before  we  reached  it.  With  a  lantern  at  the  head 
of  the  canoe,  in  which  we  burnt  hickory  bark  stripped  from  the  trees  on 
the  bank,  there  was  no  difficulty  in  seeing  the  fish  at  the  bottom  of  the 
river,  even  in  six  feet  of  water.  I  always  supposed  that  fish  was  the  largest 
ever  taken  in  these  waters,  and  still  claim  it  to  be  so.  The  one  I  caught 
measured  five  and  a  half  feet  in  length;  and  Dr.  John  Temple,  who  then 
lived  on  Lake  street,  between  Wells  and  Franklin  streets,  being  down  at 
the  river,  catching  sight  of  it  on  the  opposite  side,  took  the  trouble  to  get 
a  canoe  and  cross  the  river -to  see  it,  remarking  that  it  was  the  largest  he 
had  ever  seen,  and  many  times  after  said  the  same.  When  I  first  saw  it, 
it  had  two  mates  of  about  the  same  size,  all  swimming  in  a  row.  I  thrust 
the  spear  into  the  middle  of  its  body,  but  it  would  not  hold,  and  slipped 
off.  I  immediately  dropped  down  the  river,  exclaiming  to  the  friend  who 
was  paddling,  'O,  such  an  immense  fish!  drop  down  stream  quick;  we 
must  not  lose  it.'  After  replenishing  the  fire  at  the  head  of  the  boat  we  again 
ascended  the  river,  and  soon  heard  the  poor  creature  blowing  like  a  por- 
poise. It  was  swimming  down  stream,  with  its  head  well  out  of  the 
water,  into  which  I  again  threw  the  spear,  and  after  a  great  struggle, 
succeeded  in  dragging  it  into  the  canoe;  and  even  then  it  floundered  so 
that  we  were  nearly  upset,  and  it  took  several  blows  of  the  hatchet  upon 
its  head  before  I  could  quiet  it. 

Several  times  in  the  Spring  of  1834  I  fished  on  the  lake  with  the 
garrison  officers,  who  used  to  furnish  men  to  do  the  work,  and  a  good 
boat,  and  we  often  made  famous  hauls;  but  it  was  with  Mr.  Elston's  seine 
we  fished,  and  not  the  garrison's.  He  brought  two  of  them  from  England, 
and  I  was  then  living  with  him." 


424 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 


THE    STEAM    TOWING    BUSINESS. 

The  steam  tug  business  of  Chicago  is  about  twenty-eight  years  old, 
and  it  is  deserving  of  favorable  mention  in  the  history  of  the  city.  But  little 
has  been  said  of  it  in  print  except  to  bring  it  into  disrepute.  Conflicting 
interests  cause  the  people  and  the  newspapers  to  bear,  perhaps,  unjustly 
hard  upon  the  business.  The  tugs  make  an  annoying  noise,  belch  forth 
an  ocean  of  smoke  and  cause  interruption  to  bridge  travel.  These  things 
irritate  the  citizens,  and  the  result  is  much  bad  feeling,  and  the  enactment 
of  strict  laws  and  city  ordinances.  These  in  turn  irritate  the  tugmen,  and 
they  complain  not  only  of  burdensome  laws,  but  what  they  term  slow 
and  stubborn  bridge  tenders,  which  together  with  wind,  current  and  the 
railroad  bridges  and  the  powerful  monopoly  that  runs  them,  are,  they  allege, 
a  serious  impediment  to  the  tug  interests. 

About  the  first  regular  vessel  towing  ever  done  at  Chicago  was  in 
the  year  1853,  and  the  first  tug  was  the  Indiana,  a  side-wheel  boat  that 
came  from  some  Eastern  port.  The  Black  Swan,  built  at  the  North  Pier, 
was  the  next  boat  to  attempt  the  business,  but  being  a  stern  paddle,  or 
wooden  wheel  boat,  with  little  power,  she  was  a  failure.  Then  came  the 
Archimedes,  which  was  also  built  here.  She  was  a  side-wheeler,  and 
for  the  times,  was  of  some  use.  These  boats  were  a  combination  of 
weakness  and  enterprise,  entirely  lacking  the  present  quality  of  dura- 
bility of  our  tugs,  but  they  proved  that  tugs  here  could  give  that  assistance 
and  dispatch  so  much  needed  by  vessels,  and  for  which  their  owners  were 
willing  to  pay,  thus  establishing  the  fact  that  tugs  properly  managed 
would  prove  remunerative.  In  1853  the  first  real  harbor  tug,  with  the 
iron  submerged  or  screw  wheel,  came  here  from  Buffalo,  New  York.  In 
the  Spring  of  1854  two  more  of  those  side-wheelers  made  their  appear- 
ance, the  Moore  and  Kossuth;  but  their  work  was  mainly  canal  boat 
towing.  In  that  year,  also,  two  more  regular  screw  wheel  tugs  were 
placed  upon  our  waters,  the  Fredrick  Follet,  from  across  the  lake,  and 
the  then  largest  one,  the  Eclipse.  At  this  time  the  towing  took  the  form 
of  a  regular  business,  but  it  had  many  difficulties  to  overcome,  which  are 
now  unknown  and  almost  forgotten;  such  as  being  compelled  to  have  all 
the  bridges  open  for  them  whether  they  had  vessels  in  tow  or  not;  burn- 
ing the  slow-lighting  hard  coal;  bending  the  blades  of  their  wheels,  which 
were  wrought  iron  in  those  days;  unshipping  rudders  and  knocking 
down  the  then  stationary  smokestacks;  inability  to  get  steam  in  some  cases, 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS   DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  425 

and  to  keep  it  down  in  others.  The  captain  of  a  tug  in  those  days  re- 
mained out  on  deck  to  make  bargains  and  give  orders  to  the  crew. 
Each  tug  carried  a  wheelsman,  who  did  all  the  handling  of  the  tug  and 
tow,  subject  to  the  captain's  orders.  Now  the  captain  does  his  own  steering. 

The  headquarters  of  the  business  was  first  near  State  street  bridge, 
or  where  that  bridge  now  stands;  but  they  were  removed  to  Clark  street 
bridge,  where  they  remained  until  1870,  at  which  time  they  were  estab- 
lished at  the  lumber  market,  where  they  still  remain. 

The  charges  for  vessel  towing  in  the  early  days,  were  very  uneven, 
fluctuating  in  one  day  from  apparent  extortion  to  fifty  per  cent,  below 
absolute  starvation  prices,  the  main  rule  being,  supply  and  demand.  It 
might  one  day  cost  a  vessel  one  hundred  dollars  for  a  tow  that  would  be 
duplicated  the  next  for  two  or  three  dollars.  In  1855  the  number  of  men 
directly  employed  in  running  the  tug  fleet  was  about  twenty-five,  and  in 
iSSo  the  number  must  have  been  over  three  hundred  and  twenty-five,  and 
a  tug  does  not  carry  as  many  men  now  as  in  1855,  either. 

The  following  are  the  names  of  the  fifty-eight  tugs  now  in  Chicago: 
Constitution,  Union,  Monitor,  Geo.  B.  McClellan,  American  Eagle,  Gen. 
Humphreys,  R.  Prindiville,  J.  A.  Crawford,  Crawford,  O.  B.  Green,  M. 
Green,  Alert,  A.  Mosher,  A.  B.  Ward,  J.  G.  Campbell,  J.  H.  Hackley, 
T.  Brown,  A.  Miller,  M.  Shields,  A.  Van  Schaick,  Geo.  B.  Carpenter, 
G.  W.  Gardner,  F.  Theilikie,  F.  R.  Crane,  A.  S.  Allen,  R.  Tarrant,  F. 
S.  Butler,  L.  B.Johnson,  Levi  Johnson,  E.  P.  Ferry,  C.  W.  Parker,  J.  L. 
Higgle,  W.  Brown,  J.  C.  Iirgram,  A.  Ransom,  A.  Eustaphieve,  D.  L. 
Babcock,  E.  Anthony,  L.  Dole,  M.  McLane,  A.  L.  Smith,  W.  L.  Ewing, 
Protection,  Satisfaction,  Rebel,  Black  Ball  No.  2,  Triad,  Little  Giant  No.  2, 
Red  Jacket,  Diamond,  Albatross,  Charmer,  Success,  Brothers,  Two 
Brothers,  Belle  Chase,  W.  H.  Wood,  C.  Nelson. 

Following  are  the  names  of  tugs  that  have  been  here,  but  are  not 
here  now:  Black  Swan,  Indiana,  Archimedes,  H.  Franklin,  Seneca,  F. 
Follet,  Kossuth,  H.  Moore,  Eclipse,  Gtmnison,  Foster,  Gushing,  Mosher, 
America,  H.  Morton,  Mulford,  W.  McQueen,  T.  Jones,  B.  F.  Davison, 
Levi,  Mars,  Ajax,  Lark,  Osgood,  Dime,  Sturges,  Rumsey,  S.  G.  Chase, 
Salvor,  Tiger,  Cleveland,  Oswego,  Montauk,  Brooklyn,  Continental,  Ada 
Allen,  Oriole,  Evans,  Hewett,  Hunter,  Messenger,  M.  P.  Harrison,  G. 
W.  Wood,  P.  Brearly,  B.  Drake,  A.  Burton,  E.  Van  Dalson,  M.  Ryerson, 
Home,  Sheppard,J.  Gregory,  Goldsmith  Maid,  S.  V.  R.  Watson,  Stranger, 
A.  M.  Ball,  H.  Warner,  I.  M.  Stephens,  Day  Spring,  Magnolia,  Griffin, 
L.  Everett,  Nagle,  Night  Hawk,  Kitty  Smoke,  W.  Richards,  Edwards, 
Mentor,  L.  B.  Coates,  Cyclone,  Ida  Lee,  Coleman,  M.  Boole,  R.  Ander- 
son, E.  P.  Dorr,  E.  C.  Blish,  J.  Sutton,  Col.  Stephens,  J.  P.  Haytlen,  G. 
Grant,  Little  Giant  No.  i,  L.  Clifford,  Sport,  F.  Stafford  and  Morgan. 

Below  are  inserted  the  names  of  the  places  from  which  the  tugs  have 
come  so  far  as  it  has  been  possible  to  ascertain.  Buffalo,  New  York,  has 
furnished  over  one-half  of  the  tugs  that  have  been  here,  and  among  them 
the  following:  H.  Franklin,  Dime,  F.  Stafford,  Anderson,  Ball,  Red 


426  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

Jacket,  Home,  Magnolia,  Dorr,  Nelson,  Hayden,  Van  Dalson,  Carpenter, 
Rebel,  Black  Ball,  Satisfaction,  W.  Brown,  Higgie,  Theilikie,  Gardner, 
Brothers,  Evans,  Harrison,  Sheppard,  Watson,  Nagle,  Lee,  J.  Sutton, 
Clifford,  Messenger,  Coates  and  Hayden. 

From  Cleveland,  Ohio,  came,  among  others,  those  here  named:  Mars, 
Ajax,  Montauk,  Triad,  Edwards  and  Cleveland. 

Philadelphia  furnished  the  Levi,  America,  Brearly,  Gushing  and 
Mosher. 

The  Foster,  Gunnison,  Ward,  Coleman  and  Hunter  came  from 
Troy,  New  York. 

It  will  also  be  interesting  to  know  where  some  of  the  tugs,  whose 
names  are  familiar,  went  during  the  late  civil  war.  The  government 
took  six  of  them,  paying  the  owners  for  them  and  sending  them  South 
by  way  of  the  Illinois  and  Michigan  Canal.  They  were  the  Dime,  Mul- 
ford,  Little  Giant,  Cleveland,  Sturges  and  Rumsey. 

The  following  also  went  South  by  way  of  the  canal :  Oriole,  Coates,. 
Ada  Allen,  Levi,  Gunnison,  Continental,  Brooklyn,  Watson,  Magnolia, 
Nagle,  I.  M.  Stephens,  Goldsmith  Maid,  Montauk  and  Mosher.  These 
went  South  on  private  business,  and  went  to  New  Orleans,  Galveston> 
Memphis,  St.  Louis  and  other  points  on  the  rivers  and  bays. 

The  following  tugs  were  built  at  Chicago:  Archimedes  and  Black 
Swan, by  Wm.  Granger;  H.  Warner,  by  Walker  &  Ozier;  McClellan  and 
Sturges,  by  Prindiville  &  Sturges;  Rumsey,  Union,  Monitor,  Constitution^ 
by  Walker  &  Ozier;  Davison,  by  Lurkins  &  Greenleaf;  G.  W.  Wood,  by 
Crawford  &  Bowman ;  J.  A.  Crawford  and  Little  Giant  No.  2,  by  Mosher  & 
Dunham;  A.  Mosher  and  R.  Prindiville,  by  Prindiville,  Harmon  &  Green;. 
O.  B.  Green,  by  O.  B.  Green;  Butler,  by  E.  Van  Dalson  and  others;  Oriole^ 
by  Harmon  &  Brown;  L.  B.  Johnson,  by  A.  Green  and  others;  Tarrant,  by 
Burton,  Rowell  &  Sanborn ;  Smith,  by  Geo.  McLane ;  McLane  and  E  wing, 
by  Taylor  and  others;  M.  Green,  by  M.  Green;  Miller,  by  Miller  Brothers;. 
Shields,  by  Leavort  &  Shields;  Burton,  by  A.  Burton;  Everett,  by  Fox 
&  Howard;  T.  Brown,  by  Harmon  &  Brown;  Van  Schaick,  by  Vessel 
Owners'  Towing  Company;  Parker,  Ferry,  Protection,  Alert,  by  O.  B. 
Green;  Albatross,  by  fishermen;  Charmer,  by  Dahlke  Brothers. 

As  nearly  as  the  dates  can  be  fixed,  the  following  will  give  the  year 
of  the  appearance  of  the  tugs  named:  In  1853,  the  Indiana,  Black  Swan, 
Archimedes,  H.  Franklin.  In  1854,  the  Seneca,  Follet,  Eclipse,  Moore, 
Kossuth.  In  1855,  the  Ward  and  Chase.  In  1856,  the  Foster,  Gunnisom 
Morton,  McQueen.  In  1857,  the  Warner,  Gushing,  America,  Levi,. 
Mosher,  Mulford,  Dime.  In  1858,  the  T.  Jones,  Salvor,  Blish,  Col. 
Stephens.  In  1859,  the  Sturges,  Rumsey,  McClellan,  Grant.  In  1860, 
the  Constitution,  Union,  Morgan.  In  1861,  the  Davison  and  Monitor. 
In  1862,  the  Mars,  Ajax,  Continental,  Brooklyn,  Nelson,  G.  W.  Wood, 
W.  H.  Wood,  Little  Giant.  In  1863,  the  Stranger,  Cleveland,  Success, 
Little  Giant  No.  2,  J.  A.  Crawford,  Van  Dalson,  Stafford,  Harrison,  Wat- 
son, A.  Mosher,  Babcock,  Dole,  Prindiville.  In  1864,  the  Montauk  and 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS   DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  427 

Sheppard.  In  1865,  the  Sutton,  O.  B.  Green,  Tiger,  Red  Jacket,  Belle 
Chase,  I.  M.  Stephens,  Day  Spring.  In  1866,  the  Magnolia,  Brothers, 
Butler,  Cyclone.  In  1867,  the  Lark,  Osgood,  Evans,  Ada  Allen,  Eusta- 
phieve,  Mentor.  In  1868,  the  Hewett,  Oswego,  Oriole,  Hunter,  Coleman, 
Messenger,  Drake,  L.  B.  Johnson,  Tarrant,  Ewing,  Smith,  McLane.  In 
1869,  the  M.  Green,  Miller,  Lee,  Home.  In  1870,  the  Brearly,  Clifford, 
Shields,  Anderson,  Ball,  Dorr.  In  1871,  the  Burton,  Campbell,  Ryerson, 
Everett,  Rebel,  Black  Ball,  Satisfaction,  W.  Brown,  Higgle,  Coates,  Boole. 
In  1872,  the  T.  Brown,  Diamond,  Hayden.  In  1873,  the  Sport  and  Van 
Schaick.  In  1874,  the  Parker,  Ferry,  Protection,  Nagle.  In  1875,  the  Alert 
and  Griffin.  In  1876,  the  Goldsmith  Maid,  Albatross,  Night  Hawk.  In 
1877,  the  Humphreys,  Two  Brothers,  American  Eagle.  In  1878,  the  Levi 
Johnson,  Ingram,  Ransom,  Anthony,  Hackley,  Gregory,  Gardner,  Crane, 
A.  S.  Allen,  Charmer.  In  1879,  the  Kitty  Smoke,  Triad,  Edwards, 
Richards,  Thielikie.  In  iSSo,  the  Carpenter  and  Crawford. 

There  have  been  but  two  iron  tugs  here.  The  first,  the  Levi,  came 
from  Philadelphia,  and  after  towing  here  for  some  time,  went  South 
through  the  canal.  She  was  a  fine  tug  and  would  compare  favorably 
with  any  now  here,  of  her  power.  The  second  is  the  Eustaphieve,  still  > 
here,  and  owned  by  C.  H.  and  L.  J.  McCormick.  She  has  always  been 
a  good  little  tug.  One  steel  hull  tug  has  been  here,  the  Sport.  She  was 
built  at  Wyandotte,  by  F.  Kirby,  for  E.  B.  Ward.  The  entire  boiler  and 
hull,  with  the  exception  of  the  cabin,  was  made  of  steel,  and  the  cost 
of  the  boat  was  seventeen  thousand  five  hundred  dollars.  She  was  fast, 
powerful,  handy  and  durable.  Captain  Joseph  Gilston  brought  her  here 
and  ran  her  until  she  was  called  home. 

There  appears  to  have  been  five  side- wheel  tugs, at  one  time  and  another. 
The  Indiana,  before  referred  to,  was  an  old  craft  that  was  unmanageable 
in  windy  weather,  and  she  was  weak  at  all  times.  She  went  out  of  sight 
in  1854,  and  no  one  appears  to  know  what  became  of  her.  The  Archi- 
medes, also  previously  mentioned,  was  handy  for  one  of  her  class.  She 
was  first  owned  by  a  Frenchman.  After  running  some  time,  he  sold  her 
to  Mr.  Durfee,  the  dock  builder,  and  she  towed  the  first  dredges  and  scows 
owned  by  his  firm,  and  did  all  their  work  until  1859,  when  the  firm  built 
the  McClellan,  and  threw  away  the  old,  worn  out  "Peggy"  as  the  boys 
used  to  call  her.  The  Moore  was  another  of  this  class,  and  was  a  good 
sized  boat,  in  fact  too  large  for  harbor  work.  She  was  not  remarkable 
for  anything  except,  perhaps,  being  in  her  own  and  everybody  else's  way, 
and  finally  sinking  in  the  river  near  the  mouth  of  the  canal.  The  Seneca 
was  the  best  general  side-wheeler  that  ever  was  here.  She  did  a  great 

o  o 

deal  of  good  towing,  but  her  career  was  cut  short  by  an  explosion  of  her 
boiler,  which  will  be  more  particularly  noticed  further  on.  She  was 
of  medium  size,  with  considerable  power,  and  like  all  the  other  tugs  here 
then,  she  had  no  beauty  to  boast  of.  Last  on  this  list  comes  the  Kossuth. 
She  had  a  hull  like  a  barn,  to  catch  the  wind ;  was  too  long  to  turn  the 
sharp  curves  in  the  river,  and  not  being  fitted  out  with  two  engines,  it  was 


428  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

difficult  for  her  to  get  through  the  river  with  a  tow.  But  she  remained 
until  driven  out  by  the  more  convenient  screw  wheel  tugs.  The  owners 
then  started  across  the  lake,  to  Manistee,  Michigan,  with  her,  but  were 
caught  in  a  northwest  breeze,  and  in  trying  to  run  into  Muskegon  harbor 
she  went  ashore  on  the  south  side  of  the  entrance,  and  in  a  few  hours  was 
a  total  loss.  She  was  the  last  of  the  side-wheel  branch  of  the  business. 

The  running  expenses  of  the  tugs  in  the  year  1854  were  not  twenty 
thousand  dollars  for  six  tugs;  in  1860  they  were  over  two  hundred  and 
thirty  thousand  dollars  for  twenty-five  tugs;  in  1870  they  were  over  three 
hundred  and  sixty  thousand  dollars  for  thirty-eight  tugs;  in  1880  they 
were  four  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars  for  fifty-eight  tugs. 

Among  other  burdens  which  the  tug  interest  has  to  bear,  are  hospital 
dues,  license  and  inspection  fees,  personal  property  and  water  tax,  and 
a  ten  dollar  license  to  the  captain  and  engineer  of  each  tug.  The  general 
government  collects  all  these  except  the  water  and  personal  tax,  which  are 
collected  by  the  city.  These  items  alone  foot  up  to  about  one  hundred 
dollars  per  tug,  and  are  regarded  as  burdensome  by  the  tugmen. 

Prior  to  1860,  endless  trouble  was  caused  by  the  lack  of  a  uniform 
price  for  towing  done  here.  There  was  nothing  certain  as  to  the  price 
of  any  particular  tow,  and  as  business  was  increasing  some  system  of  regu- 
lar charges  was  urgently  demanded.  During  the  Winter  of  1860-1  some 
of  the  most  interested  met  and  appointed  a  committee  to  devise  a  uniform 
list  of  prices,  one  to  be  made  public,  and  thereby  do  away  with  the 
troublesome  custom  of  making  a  bargain  for  each  tow,  or  the  necessity 
of  exposing  vessel  owners  to  the  mercy  of  the  tug  owners,  or  the  tug 
owners  to  that  of  the  vessel  owners.  H.  Green  and  Captain  J.  A.  Crawford 
were  members  of  the  committee  to  which  was  committed  the  work  of 
arranging  a  schedule  of  prices,  which  work  was  performed  in  a  most 
satisfactory  manner.  The  list  of  prices  was  duly  prepared,  and  remained 
in  force  until  1865,  when  it  was  enlarged  and  improved  by  some  few 
alterations.  Five  years  more  then  passed,  and  in  1870  it  was  again  revised, 
and  as  revised,  it  served  its  purpose  for  ten  years.  Another  enlargement 
was  found  necessary  at  that  time  to  cover  new  ground,  the  increase  in 
tonnage  and  draught  of  vessels. 

The  extension,  after  the  great  fire  of  1871,  of  the  lumber  and  other 
branches  of  trade,  to  the  south  end  of  the  south  branch,  and  the  south- 
east and  the  southwest  forks  therefrom,  and  in  the  north  branch  north 
of  Nickersonville,  brought  miles  of  newly  navigable  river  into  use,  which 
the  tariff  of  1870  did  not  cover.  A  new  and  much  enlarged  edition  was 
a  necessity,  and  it  was  arranged  and  published  at  a  cost  of  about  one  thou- 
sand dollars,  forming  a  copyrighted,  durable  masterpiece  of  experience, 
study,  labor  and  good  judgment,  embracing  the  names  and  tonnage  of  all 
the  vessels  and  propellers  on  the  northwestern  lakes,  and  about  one  hundred 
thousand  separate  prices.  Each  of  the  subscribing  tugs  are  furnished  with 
a  full  copy,  well  bound,  and  of  the  most  convenient  shape.  The  gentle- 
men to  whom  the  highest  praise  is  clue  for  the  arrangement  of  these  new 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  429 

tariff  rates,  are  Captains  J.  A.  Crawford,  E.  Van  Dalson,  F.  Rich,  William 
Kahler  and  F.  Davison. 

There  have  been  only  three  associations  of  tug  owners  and  mana- 
gers. Up  to  1870,  all  the  tugs  "ran  wild,"  that  is,  were  handled  and 
operated  by  the  individual  owner  or  agent.  The  business  had  its 
times  of  prosperity  and  times  of  adversity,  and  but  little  was  said  of  such 
a  thing  as  a  general  pool  until  1869.  Times  then  being  very  dull,  and 
the  supply  of  tugs  far  greater  than  the  demand  for  them,  owners  were 
forced  to  figure  close,  and  in  fact  some  were  being  ruined.  The  result 
was  a  proposition  to  combine  the  entire  fleet,  and  pool  the  earnings,  and 
when  not  actually  needed,  to  lay  up  a  portion  of  the  tugs,  and  thus  save 
coal  and  other  expenses.  It  was  argued  that  if  twenty  tugs  could  do  all 
the  work  it  was  sheer  folly  to  run  forty.  Therefore  an  association  was 
formed  in  June,  1870,  consisting  of  thirty-seven  tugs.  The  officers  were 
J.  A.  Crawford,  President;  J.  Cox,  Superintendent;  —  Hills,  Secretary; 
J.  S.  Dunham,  Treasurer.  This  plan  worked  magnificently  for  the  owners, 
but  unfortunately  for  the  men  employed  by  them.  A  part  of  the  fleet 
being:  out  of  commission  it  naturallv  followed  that  a  number  of  men,  well 

O  ^ 

trained  in  the  business,  and  who  had  for  years  made  it  the'means  of  a  liveli- 
hood, were  thrown  out  of  employment;  and  as  there  were  more  tugmen 
than  tugs,  wages  decreased  in  accordance  with  the  law  of  supply  and 
demand.  The  owners  of  the  associated  tugs,  however,  did  well  until 
the  managers  of  the  association  and  some  of  the  vessel  men  had  a  serious 
misunderstanding  about  the  payment  of  certain  tow  bills,  the  vessel  men 
refusing  to  settle  and  the  association  refusing  to  tow  their  vessels  until  the 
disputed  bills  were  fully  paid.  Both  parties  being  stubborn,  and  to  a  cer- 
tain extent  right,  the  vessel  men  invoked  the  power  of  die  government 
and  the  city.  The  government  responded  feebly.  But  the  officers  of  the 
association  maintained  their  position,  and  the  result  was  that  the  vessel 
owners  of  Chicago  formed  a  joint  stock  company,  which  was  called  the 
Vessel  Owners'  Towing  Association,  with  a  capital  of  about  sixty 
thousand  dollars,  and  sent  an  agent  to  Buffalo,  New  York,  to  contract  for 
the  building  of  five  tugs.  In  1871  the  five  new  tugs  arrived.  A  glance 
at  their  names  will  suggest  the  cause  of  their  existence.  They  were  the 
Rebel,  Satisfaction,  Black  Ball  No.  3,  W.  Brown  and  J.  L.  Higgie.  The 
association  became  a  permanent  institution  and  caused  the  other  tug- 
owners'  association  to  dissolve  in  the  Fall  of  1871.  After  this  dissolution 
the  tugs  formerly  belonging  to  the  defunct  combination  "ran  wild,"  and 
in  opposition  to  the  Vessel  Owners'  Towing  Association,  until  the  Spring 
of  1877.  By  that  time  the  general  feeling  of  revenge  became  exhausted, 
and  as  nobody  was  making  any  money,  a  third  association  was  formed, 
not  to  include  or  directly  oppose  the  Vessel  Owners'  Association,  but  to 
work  in  harmony  with  it,  the  principal  details  of  running  to  be  settled 
by  the  officers  of  and  satisfactorily  to  both  associations.  The  name  of  this 
association  was  the  Union  Towing  Association  of  Chicago.  It  contained 
twenty-three  first-class  tugs,  and  was  managed  by  J.  S.  Dunham,  J.  A. 


43°  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

Crawford,  E.  Van  Dalson,  A.  Leonard,  F.  Rich,  Wm.  Harmon,  A.  Bur- 
ton and  others.  It  proved  remunerative  for  one  year;  served  vessels 
satisfactorily,  and  although  one-third  of  the  fleet  was  kept  at  the  dock, 
vessels  were  never  delayed.  At  the  expiration  of  a  year,  however,  tugs 
came  here  from  all  quarters  and  ran  in  opposition  to  both  associations, 
resulting  in  speedily  killing  the  Union  Towing  Association,  and  now  but 
one  remains,  the  Vessel  Owners'  Towing  Association.  This  association 
being  controlled  by  heavy  vessel  and  barge  owners,  it  will  probably  be 
permanent.  It  now  owns  twelve  good  tugs,  and  is  building  two  more  at 
Buffalo. 

Captain  Job  J.  Hickman,  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  the  facts  in 
this  chapter,  says:  "It  may  afford  satisfaction  to  some  of  the  past  and 
present  officers  and  others  of  those  connected  with  tugs,  to  see  in  print  my 
opinion  of  these  associations;  and  it  is  that  all  the  associations  spoken 
of  have  had  a  good  effect  on  the  business,  giving  it  strength,  solidity  and 
respectability.  They  made  collections  better,  caused  them  to  be  paid 
more  promptly  and  raised  the  general  tone  of  the  business,  commercially 
and  morally.  The  general  reputation  of  the  tugs  and  tugmen  now  is  good, 
and  I  trust  will  ever  remain  so,  for  the  tug  and  tugman  are  fixtures  as 
long  as  water  flows." 

The  present  business  is  run  in  the  most  perfect,  simple  and  gentlemanly 
manner  by  the  following  parties:  Vessel  Owners'  Towing  Association, 
J.  L.  Higgie,  Superintendent;  Union  Line,  Wm.  Harmon,  Manager; 
Crawford's  Line,  J.  A.  Crawford,  Manager;  Dunham's  Line,  J.  S.  Dun- 
ham, Manager;  Independent  Line,  E.  Warner,  Manager;  and  some  other 
parties  own  a  few  tugs.  The  main  offices  of  the  tug  lines  are  all  on  South 
Water  street,  at  the  lumber  market.  Some  have  branch  offices  up  the 
river.  Tugs  can  be  hired  at  any  time,  day  or  night,  and  started  at  once. 
All  the  lines  run  night  tugs,  from  the  opening  until  the  close  of  the  season 
of  navigation.  There  can  be  no  trouble  in  regard  to  prices,  as  nearly  all 
the  vessel  men  have  a  copy  of  the  tariff,  to  which  they  can  refer,  thereby 
learning  at  a  glance  what  any  particular  tow  will  cost.  Full  sets  of  books 
are  kept  in  all  the  offices,  showing  a  complete,  plain  record  of  all  towing 
done  by  the  respective  lines,  and  all  money  received  or  paid  out.  The 
crews  of  the  tugs  are  paid  by  the  month,  and  the  stewards  are  paid  for 
furnishing  meals  cooked  and  served  up.  All  coal  is  bought  by  the  ton, 
to  be  delivered  on  board,  and  all  bills  against  the  tugs,  including  the  wages 
of  the  crew,  ai*e  paid  on  the  first  of.  each  month  for  the  month  last  past. 
The  general  rule  for  towing  in  vessels,  is,  the  first  tug  out  takes  the  nearest 
vessel,  and  so  on  in  rotation,  except  when  the  weather  is  very  rough  or 
when  the  tugs  engage  in  racing  for  tows.  In  towing  out,  each  tug  tows 
out  the  vessels  she  tows  in,  if  not  otherwise  engaged.  If  thus  engaged, 
the  collector  of  the  line  to  which  the  tug  belongs,  sends  some  other  tug 
of  his  line,  if  he  has  one,  and  if  not,  he  sends  a  tug  of  some  other  line, 
the  favor  being  reciprocated  on  the  first  opportunity. 

A  vessel  is  never  required  to  use  an  anchor,  and   but  seldom  a  stern 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  431 

line,  until  she  reaches  her  destination.  The  tug  stops  and  lands  the  vessel 
in  all  cases.  When  two  tugs  are  used  to  tow  a  vessel,  one  tug  makes  fast 
to  each  end,  and  by  signaling  each  other  with  their  whistles,  the  vessel  is 
handled  and  landed  with  comparative  safety  and  ease,  it  making  no  differ- 
ence which  end  of  the  vessel  goes  first,  unless  she  is  loaded.  The  engineers 
have  regular  days  allowed  them  to  blow  off  their  boilers  to  wash  out  the 
sediment  and  scales.  The  city  furnishes  water  through  a  hydrant  near 
the  docks,  to  which  the  crew  attach  a  rubber  hose  and  lead  it  into  the 
boiler.  The  volume  and  force  of  the  water  quickly  removes  all  dirt. 
Then  the  engineer  has  what  remains  of  the  day  to  look  over  and  repair 
any  part  of  the  engine  that  may  need  it.  The  tugs  are  all  inspected,  and 
the  boilers  tested,  at  least  once  a  year,  by  the  local  inspectors. 

All  the  tug  offices  have  telephone  connections  all  over  the  river, 
and  by  that  means  a  vesselman  can  call  a  tug  to  any  part  of  the  harbor 
in  a  few  minutes,  without  any  expense  or  lost  time  in  going  down  to  the 
tug  office.  No  such  time  and  trouble  saving  appliances  as  this  were  ever 
even  fancied  a  few  years  ago.  The  vesselman  had  to  hunt  the  tug,  or  the 
tug  had  to  risk  losing  her  time  in  going  up  to  see  if  the  vessel  was  ready 
to  tow.  Before  1857  no  tug  ever  undertook  to  stop  and  land  a  tow.  The 
vessel  was  towed  to  within  a  short  distance  of  her  destination  and  then 
let  go,  to  take  care  of  herself.  No  night  boats  then  ran,  and  no  towing 
that  necessitated  work  after  dark,  was  done. 

There  have  been  at  least  eight  disastrous  tug  explosions  here.  The 
first  was  the  tug  Eclipse,  which  blew  up  in  the  river  between  Madison 
and  Washington  streets,  in  1854.  The  only  person  killed  was  the  engineer, 
a  colored  man.  She  sank  in  the  channel.  Next  came  the  Seneca,  before 
mentioned,  which  exploded  her  boiler  in  1856,  while  in  the  draw  of  the 
Randolph  street  bridge,  killing  the  captain,  a  half-breed  Indian.  There 
was  but  little  if  any  water  in  the  boiler  at  the  time  of  the  explosion. 
The  boat  had  been  in  the  mud  or  sand  a  short  time  previous,  and  in  work- 
ing her  engine  there  the  pumps  and  valves  were  filled  with  sand, 
and  had  stopped  pumping  for  over  an  hour  before  the  explosion.  The 
boiler  was  heated  to  a  degree  that  it  was  burning  the  packing  around 
the  plates  and  joints,  and  the  woodwork  near  it.  The  crew,  seeing  the 
danger,  jumped  overboard,  but  the  captain,  not  observing  the  danger,  or 
failing  to  act  upon  his  knowledge,  was  lost.  The  boat  was  a  total 
loss.  The  tug  Union  was  the  third  victim  of  explosion.  She  blew  up 
in  June,  1862.  The  accident' happened  in  the  old  channel  just  south  of 
the  South  Pier,  and  while  she  was  towing  out  a  large  vessel  which  was 
grain  laden.  The  water  in  the  channel  was  low,  and  it  was  blowing  hard 
from  the  south,  forcing  the  tug  to  carry  a  heavy  pressure  of  steam  in 
order  to  get  the  ves.se!  out.  The  captain,  T.  Daily,  and  Captain  Thos. 
Boyd,  then  Harbor  Master  here,  lost  their  lives,  and  Captain  Chas.  Hard- 
ing wa^  permanently  crippled.  Captain  John  Prindiville,  who  with 
Captains  Boyd  and  Harding,  were  passengers,  and  the  engineer,  J.  Judd, 
were  saved.  The  hull  of  the  tug  was  afterward  raised  and  rebuilt  at 


433  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

a  large  expense  and  is  still  running.  Number  four  was  the  J.  A.  Craw- 
ford, whose  boiler  exploded  in  June,  1863,  while  towing  in  a  loaded  vessel 
around  the  south  end  of  the  bar,  which  then  stretched  along  southward 
from  the  North  Pier  and  across  the  mouth  of  the  harbor.  The  tug  was 
entirely  new.  There  was  no  neglect  or  inattention  to  duty  on  the  part 
of  the  captain  or  engineer,  who  both  perished.  The  name  of  the  captain 
was  E.  Ozier,  and  that  of  the  engineer,  J.  Dunham.  The  boat  was  greatly 
damaged,  but  was,  however,  raised  and  fitted  out  again,  costing  nearly  as 
much  as  she  originally  did.  She  is  still  on  duty  here.  On  the  sixteenth 
of  May,  1865,  the  tug  Success,  under  command  of  Captain  Job  J.  Hick- 
man,  exploded  her  boiler  in  the  river,  near  Mason's  slip,  killing  the 
engineer,  Patrick  Welch,  the  linesman,  steward  and  a  boy  passenger,  and 
badly  scalding  the  captain  and  three  passengers — two  ladies  and  a  gentle- 
man— also  slightly  scalding  the  fireman,  James  Walsh.  The  boiler  was 
blown  clear  out  of  the  tug,  but  the  hull  was  not  much  damaged.  The 
boiler  was  fished  up  out  of  the  river  and  found  to  be  little  damaged. 
The  tug  was  repaired  and  is  still  here.  No  cause  was  ever  assigned  for 
this  catastrophe.  The  sixth  explosion  was  that  of  the  Fannie  Stafford, 
which  occurred  in  July,  1865,  in  the  river,  a  short  distance  north  of  Lake 
street  bridge,  killing  the  engineer,  and  totally  demolishing  the  hull  and 
boiler.  A  few  parts  of  the  engine  only  were  recovered.  A  portion  of  the 
boiler  weighing  over  one  ton  went  down  through  the  roof  and  one  floor 
of  a  building  on  Lake  street,  landing  in  a  room  in  which  a  family  was 
about  sitting  down  to  a  meal.  It  was  removed  from  the  building  by 
cutting  it  up  into  pieces  small  enough  to  pass  through  the  doors.  The 
boat  was  only  about  one  year  old,  and  was  a  fine,  handy  business  boat, 
owned  by  a  good,  honest,  hard-working  citizen,  Captain  J.  Chandler,  who 
had  paid  the  last  payment  due  on  her  but  a  few  days  before  the  accident. 
She  was  not  insured,  and  the  unfortunate  owner  lost  all  his  hard  earnings,' 
for  years  before,  and  then  left  this  part  of  the  country  in  disgust.  As  to 
the  cause  of  the  explosion,  it  was  only  known  that  the  tug  was  at  the 
time  employed  in  towing  a  large  loaded  vessel,  and  had  stopped  working 
her  engine  to  allow  the  crew  to  shorten  up  the  tow-line.  The  crew  were 
all  at  the  stern  hauling  in  the  line,  except  the  engineer,  who  was  last  seen 
at  the  engine  room  door.  The  tug  Red  Jacket  was  number  seven  in  this 
list  of  catastrophies.  In  May,  1866,  her  boiler  exploded.  She  was  land- 
ing a  vessel  at  the  North  Pier.  In  this  accident  the  captain,  R.  Green, 
was  killed.  The  tug  was  nearly  new,  and  no  cause  was  known  for  the 
explosion  except  the  fact  that  the  boiler  was  tested  a  day  or  two  before, 
and,  perhaps,  had  been  strained  in  some  part  that  did  not  show  at  the  time. 
At  all  events  the  boiler  was  pronounced  good  and  all  right  by  the  inspec- 
tors. The  hull  was  hauled  out  and  rebuilt,  and  she  is  still  running  here. 
At  the  time  of  the  accident  she  was  owned  by  A.  Seavort  and  M.  Shields. 
The  next  in  this  list  was  the  last  and  saddest  of  all.  The  tug  C.  W. 
Parker's  boiler  exploded  in  September,  1879,  on  the  lake  near  Lincoln 
Park,  instantly  killing  four  men,  and  nearly  drowning  the  fifth  and  only 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS   DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  433 

survivor.  The  tug  had  taken  the  tow-line  of  a  vessel  only  about  ten 
minutes  and  was  going  along  all  right.  It  was  good  clear  daylight,  and 
all  hands  were  wide  awake  and  at  their  respective  posts  of  duty;  but  in 
an  instant  and  without  warning  a  tug  and  four  men  were  no  more.  The 
names  of  the  men  were  Captain  Robert  Leary,  engineer  Callahan,  steward 
Burton.  The  name  of  the  fireman  cannot  be  ascertained.  The  linesman 
was  the  only  one  saved.  He  was  sitting  in  the  stern  at  the  time  of  the 
accident,  and  the  force  of  the  explosion  was  not  in  that  direction.  The 
wreck  of  the  tug  was  dragged  into  the  harbor  and  into  a  dry  dock,  and 
there  examined  by  the  owners  and  condemned.  Some  parties,  however, 
bought  the  whole  shattered  hull  and  machinery  for  two  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars  and  fitted  her  out  again  the  next  Summer.  She  is  here  still.  At 
the  time  of  the  accident  she  was  owned  by  the  Vessel  Owners'  Towing 
Association,  and  was  said  to  be  their  best  tug.  No  part  of  the  boiler  was 
ever  found,  and  no  cause  can  be  given  for  the  destruction  of  that  fine  tug. 

Captain  Hickman  in  writing  upon  this  subject  says:  "The  days  of 
tug  and  other  boiler  explosions  will,  I  trust,  be  few  and  short;  but  there 
is  no  knowing  what  hour  will  bring  the  shocking  report  of  some  boiler 
having  blown  up  with  fatal  consequences.  The  general  government  has 
done  something  in  the  last  few  years  to  prevent  boiler  explosions,  but  more 
yet  remains  to  be  done.  Such  accidents  as  h/ve  occurred  in  our  waters 
should  be  sufficient  to  force  inquiry  and  spggest  invention,  with  a  view 
of  preventing  further  loss  of  life  and  property,  by  making  it  absolutely 
impossible  to  blow  up  a  boiler  after  it  is  pronounced  perfect  by  the  Gov- 
ernment Inspector.  This  sad  list  of  tug  boiler  explosions  at  Chicago 
alone  tells  of  an  actual  loss  of  eighteen  men,  while  others  though  not 
killed  were  crippled  or  disfigured  for  life.  In  referring  to  these  things, 
of  sad  memory,  I  may  open  anew  heart  wounds  that  time  has  partly 
healed,  but  I  do  it  in  the  hope  that  by  bringing  the  facts  to  public  notice 
I  may  be  helping  to  protect  some  member  of  our  tug  boat  fraternity,  and 
to  be  the  humble  means  of  securing  future  safety  for  even  one  good,  honest 
soul." 

The  following  are  the  names  of  some  of  the  prominent  tug  owners 
of  the  past:  —  Granger,  J.  Nyeman,  —  Durfee,  M.  Green,  A.  F.  Gardner, 
Wm.  Burton,  C.  Walker,  G.  Ozier,  G.  W.  Wood,  Singer  &  Talcott,  J. 
Prindiville,  Greenleaf  &  Lurkins,  A.  Mussey,  —  Scoville,  —  Miller,  Miller 
Brothers,  Seavort  &  Shields,  Joseph  Miner,  C.  Myers,  A.  Leonard,  L. 
&  T.  Colburn,  F.  Green,  L.  B.  Johnson,  Strong  &  Beardsley,  J.  P. 
Hubbard,  A.  Burton,  I.  I.  Eaton,  A.  Leonard,  —  Clute,  James  Chandler, 
Joseph  Dalton,  J.  Stafford,  J.  Greenhaugh,  Greenhaugh  Brothers,  J.  Cox, 
Donaldson  Brothers,  C.  Whitney,  J.  Ebernatha  and  F.  Rich. 

The  following  are  some  of  the  names  of  present  prominent  tug 
owners:  J.  A.  Crawford,  J.  S.  Dunham,  Wm.  Harmon,  J.  Johnson, 
Geo.  Gilman,  O.  B.  Green,  E.  Van  Dalson,  A.Johnson,  F.  Minskie,  Geo. 
McLane,  J.  Brown,  Joseph  Gilston,  J.  J.  Hickman,  C.  Forsyth,  Vessel 
Owners'  Towing  Association,  J.  Bowman,  Chicago  D.  &  D.  Company, 


434  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

H.  Fox  &  Company,  —  Wilson,  J.  McLaughlin,  Wm.  Welsh,  R.  Brown, 

D.  Dall,  H.  Blue,  J.  Rowell,  C.  Theilikie  and  E.  Walker. 

Below  will  be  found  the  names  of  some  of  the  first  tug  captains  and 

others  connected  with  the  business  prior  to    1880:  E.    Kelly,  J.  Nyeman, 

—  Burton,  J.  Wilson, —  Packard, J.J.  Hickman, —  Green,  J.  A.  Crawford, 

Wm.  Crawford,  Gordon  Ozier,  J.  Prindiville,  R.  Ballentine,  Wm.  Harmon, 

E.  Roach,  Wm.   Kelly,  Jerome   Ozier,   M.  Fitzgerald,  J.  Chandler,  A. 
Leonard,  Jas.  McGinn,  —  Van  Dalson,'H.  Hawkins,  E.  McCumber,  Wm. 
Lurkins,J.  Downing,  W.  Shields,  J.  Baltis,  M.  Galivan,  Joseph  Gilston,  R. 
Tyrrell,  G.  Van  Dalson,  R.  Brewer,  B.  Brewer,  J.  Everett,  H.  Blue,  A. 
Napier,  E.  Napier,  E.  Ozier,  S.  Curtis,  F.  Green,  R.  Green,  J.  Green,  A. 
Green,  S.  Green,  G.  Green,  A.  Seavort,  Jas.  Crowley,  J.  Tierney,  A.John- 
son, C.  Johnson,  J.  Kerns,  J.  Ogden,  A.  Wilson,  E.  Wilson,  J.  Foley,  P. 
Foley,  Jas.  St.  Clair,  F.  Nyeman,  T.  Colburn,  J.  S.  Dunham,  J.  P.  Hubbard, 
M.  Driscoll,  P.  Gorman,  T.  O'Brien,  —  Navaugh,  A.  Seavort,  C.  Whitney, 
A.  Gooding,  T.   Howard,  E.   Maloy,  R.  Leary,  F.  W.  Bondreaw,  A. 
Green,  F.  Butler,  J.  Swenie,  Wm.  Hammond,  G.  Jewell,  G.  McDonald, 
S.  J.  Green,  R.  Teed,  —  Ryder,  L.  Grey,  A.  Quinn,  J.  Joice,  J.  Sellers, 
C.  Mussey,  C.  Mahoney,  A.  Dobson,  E.  Jefferson  and  J.  Furguson. 

The  death  roll  of  tug  captains  is  as  follows :  —  Bingham,  F.  Green, 
L.  B.  Johnson,  G.  W.  Wood,  T.  O'Brien,  J.  Wilson,  Geo.  Clute,  John 
Green,  Jas.  Crowley,  Jos.  Rush,  Wm.  Hammond,  John  Joice,  E.  Maloy, 
John  Sellers,  P.  Pifer,  Jos.  Miner,  A.  Gooding,  E.  Ozier,  T.  Daily,  R. 
Leary,  R.  Green  and  Jas.  Crowley. 

Captain  Bingham,  who  heads  this  list  of  the  dead,  was  the  first 
captain  who  ran  the  little  side-wheeler,  Archimedes.  He  ran  her  until 
she  was  worn  out,  and  her  owners  built  the  fine  double  engine,  screw  tug, 
G.  B.  McClellan.  When  this  tug  was  built,  Captain  Bingham  stepped 
from  the  poor  old  Archimedes  onto  her,  and  the  Archimedes  was  no 
more.  He  ran  the  McClellan  for  a  number  of  years,  and  until  his  death. 
He  had  hosts  of  friends  who  mourned  his  loss.  At  the  time  of  his 
death  Captain  Bingham  had  just  finished  a  good  comfortable  home,  and 
had  laid  up  a  few  dollars  for  his  family,  and  was,  in  fact,  about  to  take 
a  respite  from  his  labors,  when  he  gave  his  life  for  his  fellow  citizens.  In 
very  cold  weather  the  ice  in  the  lake  and  around  the  city  water  works 
crib  packed  around  the  valves  and  strainers  to  an  extent  that  the  water 
was  almost  shut  off  from  the  entire  city.  People  were  alarmed,  for  aside 
of  short  supply  for  domestic  purposes,  there  was  but  little  to  be  had  in 
case  of  a  fire  in  the  heart  of  the  city.  The  aid  of  a  tug  was  sought  by 
the  city  officials,  and  Captain  Bingham  went  out  to  the  crib,  dove  under 
water,  and  cleared  away  the  ice  and  enabled  the  full  supply  of  water 
to  come  into  the  city.  Becoming  thoroughly  chilled  while  in  the  water,  he 
contracted  a  cold  which  developed  into  quick  consumption,  and  ended 
his  life.  He  gave  his  valuable  life  to  the  people  of  Chicago,  and  his 
memory  deserves  even  a  better  preservation  than  a  single  mention  upon 
the  page  of  history. 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  435 

Captain  F.  Green  was  drowned  by  the  capsizing  of  his  tug,  the 
Watson,  at  the  mouth  of  the  harbor,  in  April,  1870,  while  towing  out 
a  light  lumber  vessel.  The  south  wind  being  fair,  the  vessel  had  most 
of  her  sails  set,  and  getting  clear  of  the  end  of  the  South  Pier,  the  full 
force  of  the  wind  was  felt.  The  vessel  shot  ahead  faster  than  the  tug 
could  run,  and  the  tow-line  being  short,  stiff  and  large,  it  could  not  be  let 
go  in  time  to  save  the  tug.  The  tug  was  pulled  around  by  the  stern,  and 
striking  the  vessel's  bow,  rolled  over  and  sank.  The  linesman,  John 
Gerrity,  and  L.  B.  Johnson,  a  part  owner  of  the  tug,  and  at  the  time 
vice  president  of  the  association  to  which  the  tug  belonged,  were  also 
drowned.  These  men  were  highly  respected  by  all  who  knew  them. 
The  bodies  were  not  all  recovered  until  two  weeks  after  the  accident. 

G.  Wi  Wood,  after  whom  a  large  .tug,  built  here  by  Crawford 
&  Bowman,  was  named,  at  one  time  an  owner,  a  pure,  honest,  sociable, 
intellectual  gentleman,  died  after  a  short  sickness,  in  1870,  and  was  mourned 
by  a  very  large  circle  of  friends. 

Captain  Gordon  Ozier  died  in  1866,  after  a  long  career  of  vessel  and 
tug  handling.  He  was  an  elder  brother  of  Captain  E.  Ozier — killed  on 
the  tug  Crawford — and  also  of  Captain  Jerome  Ozier,  now  in  the  insur- 
ance business  in  Chicago.  He  was  most  notable  for  canal  boat  towing, 
going  into  that  branch  in  1855,  and  remaining  in  it  to  the  time  of  his 
death.  He  first  built  the  tug  Warner;  then  bought  the  Follet;  next  built 
the  Constitution,  and  lastly  bought  the  Success,  a  few  months  previous 
to  his  death.  His  heart  and  purse  were  always  open  to  any  case  of  actual 
distress  or  want. 

Captain  A.  Gooding,  although  but  a  few  months  here,  made  hosts 
of  friends  by  his  manly  conduct  and  devotion  to  principle.  He  had  served 
a  good  long  lifetime  on  the  water,  and  died  in  a  most  singular  manner, 
being  found  standing  dead  at  the  wheel  of  his  tug.  It  was  at  night,  and 
the  tug  was  going  out  into  the  lake.  It  was  finally  noticed  by  the  crew 
that  the  tug  was  running  in  a  curious  crooked  manner,  and  the  linesman 
went  forward  and  looked  into  the  pilot  house.  He  supposed  the  captain 
to  be  asleep,  and  stepping  in  shook  a  dead  man! 

Captain  R.  Green,  killed  on  the  tug  Red  Jacket,  was  a  fine  young 
man,  smart  and  joyous,  too  young  to  feel  the  many  cares  of  this  world, 
and  too  happy  to  ever  intend  to  feel  them.  He  was  a  general  favorite, 
kind,  gentlemanly  and  generous  to  a  fault.  He  went  to  his  grave  in  the 
Springtime  of  manhood.  He  was  a  member  of  a  large  and  highly 
respected  family,  whose  names  have  been,  are  now  and  will  be  for  years 
connected  with  the  tug  business  here. 

Captain  John  Green,  who  died  here  recently,  was  also  a  member 
of  the  last  named  family.  He  was  also  a  noble  specimen  of  manhood, 
whose  loss  is  greatly  felt  in  business  and  social  circles. 

The  Chicago  tug  men  deservedly  claim  that  they  did  good  service 
at  the  time  of  the  great  fire  in  1871.  Their  achievements  are  certainly 
worthy  of  record.  On  that  memorable  occasion,  when  the  conflagration 


436  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

first  started,  the  tugs  Constitution,  Success  and  Brothers  were  lying  at 
Bridgeport.  On  the  morning  of  the  tenth  of  October  they  came  down 
to  the  south  end  of  the  fire  with  their  tows,  which  were  canal  boats,  but 
could  not  get  below  Taylor  street.  The  tows  were  left  above  Twelfth 
street,  and  the  tugs  were  brought  into  service  upon  the  fire,  which  was 
spreading  southeast.  They  were  placed  at  the  foot  of  Taylor  street  and 
by  the  combined  use  of  their  pony  pumps  and  hose,  and  by  covering  the 
sides  and  roof  of  a  building  belonging  to  the  Illinois  Stone  Company 
with  wet  blankets,  quilts  and  carpet,  the  building  was  saved,  with  all  its 
valuable  contents.  The  saving  of  that  building,  saved  the  lumber  piles 
in  the  yards  south  of  and  alongside  of  it  and  all  on  the  east  side  of  the 
river.  There  were  two  or  three  engines  stationed  on  the  west  side  of 
the  river,  but  they  could  not  help  the  South  Side,  and  no  engines  were 
to  be  had  until  some  came  from  Milwaukee.  The  tugs  stuck  to  it  and 
did  noble  work.  They  not  only  stopped  the  fire  spreading  in  the  locality 
named,  but  helped  the  West  Side  engines  until  relieved  in  the  afternoon 
by  an  engine  from  Milwaukee;  and  then  the  tugs  furnished  coal  to  the 
engine  and  food  to  the  crew,  who  were  worn  out,  having  been  working 
on  some  other  fire  all  of  the  day  and  night  previous  to  coming  here. 
The  tugs  then  worked  as  .long  as  they  could  do  any  good,  on  the  docks 
and  other  property  on  the  West  Side,  saving  considerable  property.  At 
the  close  of  the  day  two  of  the  tugs  went  to  Twelfth  street  and  laid  up, 
and  the  other,  the  Constitution,  finished  a  good  day's  work  by  saving  a  new 
canal  boat  with  a  full  load  of  fine  large  dimension  stone  on  board.  The 
tug  M.  Boole  happened  to  be  south  of  Twelfth  street  when  the  fire  broke 
out  and  was  compelled  to  remain  there,  as  she  had  no  hose  or  pony  pump 
and  would  be  of  no  service  except  to  tow  a  few  vessels  a  short  distance 
up  the  river  out  of  the  reach  of  the  fire.  The  crew  of  the  Boole  did  not 
eat  on  board,  but  boarded  at  a  restaurant  down  town.  The  crew  becom- 
ing hungry,  and  not  being  able  to  get  anything  to  eat  where  they  were, 
the  captain,  James  Kerns,  determined  upon  attempting  to  run  through 
the  burning  district  and  get  down  town.  He  did  try  it,  but  failed  to  get 
north  of  Van  Buren  street;  the  tug  was  in  great  danger  of  being  burned, 
and  the  crew  almost  suffocated  by  the  smoke,  heat  and  gas.  After  some 
trouble  the  tug  was  turned  around  and  started  back,  and  when  near 
Harrison  street  the  crew  heard  a  cry  for  help,  and  saw  something  moving 
about  on  a  canal  boat.  It  was  dangerous  work  to  stop  there  with  the 
tug,  but  a  human  being  was  praying  for  help,  and  such  a  cry  has  never 
been  disregarded  by  a  sailor.  The  tug  was  run  up  to  the  boat,  and  then 
it  was  discovered  that  a  man  and  woman  were  on  board  and  alive,  and 
it  was  learned  that  they  had  been  there  during  the  entire  previous  night 
and  so  far  that  day.  They  were  on  that  boat  surrounded  by  burning 
bridges,  docks,  dredges,  scows,  pile-drivers,  derricks,  wood  and  coal  piles, 
fences  and  buildings,  sixteen  or  eighteen  hours.  The  man  was  captain 
of  the  boat,  and  when  first  roused  by  the  cries  of  fire,  he  found  that  he 
was  hemmed  in.  To  go  in  any  direction  was  sure  and  speedy  death,  and 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS   DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  437 

so  they  seized  pails  and  threw  water  all  over  the  boat,  put  wet  blankets 
around  themselves  and  fought  the  fire.  At  times  being  almost  choked 
by  the  heat  and  smoke  they  would  go  down  to  the  bottom  of  the  boat 
under  the  stone  deck,  where  there  was  no  heat  and  very  little  smoke. 
But  the  cabins  and  all  the  boat  above  water  would  become  dry  and  begin 
to  burn  in  a  few  minutes,  and  the  trips  had  to  be  short  and  were  numer- 
ous; but  they  ran  up  and  down  in  that  manner  until  rescued.  When  they 
were  rescued  by  the  Boole  they  were  found  to  be  fearfully  burned;  their 
faces,  hands  and  arms  were  a  mass  of  white  and  red  blisters,  and  they  were 
unable  to  stand  or  speak  plainly;  they  both  lived  to  see  the  city  rebuilt. 
We  believe  they  both  are  still  living.  This  couple  who  were  at  the  same 
time  both  unfortunate  and  fortunate  were  Captain  C.  Hushing  and  wife. 
The  captain  of  the  Boole  reported  the  boat  as  not  being  then  much  burned, 
but  refused  to  risk  trying  to  get  her  out  Of  the  fire,  and  the  Constitution, 
with  a  volunteer  crew,  consisting  of  Captains  Hickman,  Hubbard  and 
Crowley,  went  to  her  rescue,  and  the  boat  and  her  load  was  brought  up 
to  Twelfth  street  in  safety. 

At  the  other  end  of  the  fire  a  little  tug  was  earning  laurels  of  praise. 
The  Magnolia,  Captain  Joseph  Gilston,  being  alone  at  the  piers  east  of  Rush 
street,  as  the  fire  was  about  sweeping  across  the  river,  before  a  strong  south 
wind,  towed  out  into  the  lake,  or  placed  at  anchor,  or  in  other  positions 
of  safety,  steamboats,  vessels,  scows  and  other  craft.  As  the  wall 
of  fire  drew  near  the  river,  men,  women  and  children  came  running  to  the 
docks  but  could  go  no  further,  the  only  bridge — Rush  street — being  in 
flames.  Then  the  little  tug  became  a  free  ferry  boat,  and  carried  them  all 
over  to  the  North  Pier,  before  the  flames  quite  reached  them.  No  one 
was  drowned,  burned  or  harmed.  No  one  can  conjecture  how  many 
would  have  perished  if  there  had  been  no  tug  there  at  the  time. 

After  the  fire  had  somewhat  subsided  the  tug  Little  Giant,  carried 
a  trunk  containing  eight  hundred  thousand  dollars  from  the  cellar  of  the 
lighthouse,  where  it  had  been  hidden  by  a  negro,  to  the  Milwaukee  rail- 
road depot,  whence  it  was  sent  to  its  owner. 

The  people  are  more  dependent  upon  the  tugs  than  many  of  them 
think.  During  the  severe  cold  Winter  of  1880-1  a  tug  was  working  day 
and  night  at  the  water  works  crib,  for  weeks  being  unable  to  get  into  the 
harbor  on  account  of  the  vast  fields  of  ice  then  in  the  lake.  These  few 
instances,  with  hundreds  of  others,  such  as  rescuing  people  who  fall  into 
the  river  almost  daily,  go  to  show  that  there  is -some  good  humane  pur- 
poses to  which  the  tugs  are  always  cheerfully  applied. 

Captain  Hickman,  with  others  of  the  tug  fraternity,  feels,  as  before 
stated  in  this  chapter,  that  many  of  the  restrictions  placed  upon  the  tug 
business  are  unjust  and  grievously  burdensome.  In  writing  upon  this 
subject  he  remarks:  "I  will  mention  some  of  our  troubles.  The  recent 
passage  by  the  City  Council  of  an  ordinance  closing  the  main  bridges 
across  the  river  for  an  hour  each  morning  and  evening,  forces  us  to  com- 
plain bitterly.  The  tug  business  has  had  a  struggle  of  some  magnitude 


438  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

for  the  past  twenty  years  with  the  city  and  the  railroad  interests.  The 
many  obstructions  thrown  across  the  river  are  sources  of  great  trouble 
to  us.  The  bridges  are  so  numerous,  slowly  handled,  and  often  unlaw- 
fully held  closed  for  from  ten  to  thirty  minutes,  that  tugs  and  vessels  are 
forced  to  stop  and  lose  much  valuable  time  in  each  case,  and  the  number 
of  those  cases  being  from  six  to  twelve  in  a  distance  of  one  mile,  it  will 
easily  be  seen  that  we  are  compelled  to  suffer  severely.  We  have  to  fight 
the  city,  steam  and  hoi'se  railroads,  and  in  fact  it  looks  to  us  as  if  the  entire 
population  assume  that  we  have  no  right  to  demand  a  right  of  way. 
The  mass  of  the  people  firmly  believe  that  the  city  made  this  river  navi- 
gable by  dredging  it  out  from  time  to  time,  and  for  that  reason  can  and 
will  build  all  the  bridges  it  wishes,  and  open  them  when  and  how  it  thinks 
proper.  Even  the  leading  newspapers  editorially  advance  the  same  views. 
In  answer  to  this,  we  of  the  water  have  always  been  given  to  understand 
that  this  river  from  Lake  Michigan  to  its  southern  extremity,  a  distance 
of  miles,  was  a  navigable  river  and  under  control  of  the  general  govern- 
ment, just  the  same  as  the  lake,  surveyed  by  the  government,  laid  down 
on  its  charts,  and  a  right  of  way  guaranteed  to  all  properly  licensed  craft 
that  may  wish  to  use  it.  I  know  that  Chicago  river  was  navigable  to 
every  vessel  of  the  present  tonnage  long  before  a  white  man  ever  wanted 
to  use  it,  and  before  a  town  was  built  upon  its  banks,  or  a  white  man  had 
any  business  to  transact  here.  In  the  year  1858  I  towed  vessels  and 
propellers  from  the  piers  to  Bridgeport,  drawing  over  twelve  feet  of  water, 
and  without  getting  them  stuck  in  the  channel.  In  the  Fall  of  1880  I  saw 
lots  of  this  class  of  craft  stuck  fast  in  the  channel.  If  this  river  is  not 
government  water  how  is  it  that  we  cannot  run  our  boats  on  it  without 
first  obtaining  a  license  from  the  government?  It  is  a  problem  for  some 
wise  head  to  solve.  A  loud  complaint  is  made  against  a  tug  or  vessel 
when  causing  a  bridge  to  open,  by  a  multitude  of  people  who  never  pay 
one  cent  of  taxes.  They  petition  the  council  through  some  alderman, 
who  is,  too  often,  a  tax  eater  and  owns  nothing,  and  the  next  we  hear 
is  that  an  ordinance  is  passed  restricting,  altering  and  even  abolishing  to 
navigation  the  use  of  its  own  highway. 

The  Chicago  tugmen  themselves  are  a  smart,  generous,  courageous, 
intelligent,  law  abiding  class  of  tax  paying  citizens,  who  toil  through  rain 
and  shine,  heat  and  cold,  by  day  and  night,  to  bring  into  die  harbor  vessels 
laden  with  valuable  freight  of  every  description,  the  value  and  handling 
of  which  makes  profit  and<  employment  for  thousands  of  the  thoughtless 
people  who,  if  detained  five  minutes  at  a  bridge,  hurl  curses  at  the  men 
who  are  bringing  them  their  daily  bread  and  future  wealth.  We  use  the 
river  but  about  two-thirds  of  the  year,  and  for  the  balance  of  the  time, 
while  we  are  handing  out  what  we  have  saved,  the  city  is  filling  up  our 
river  with  a  far  worse  sewerage  than  gas.  Deal  fairly  and  justly  with 
the  tugman  and  he  will  return  the  favor.  He  loves  Chicago,  and  glories  in 
her  greatness,  but  he  also  knows  that  he  is  entitled  to  some  little  con- 
sideration. Tugs  and  tugmen  can  go  to  some  other  locality,  but  Chicago 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

must   remain  here,  and   the   grass  grows   on  every  bridge  that  does  not 
open  to  allow  some  kind  of  merchant  marine  vessel  to  pass  through." 

For  the  first  time,  therefore,  has  the  inside  working  of  this  business, 
which  is  externally  so  familiar  to  our  people,  been  described.  In  all  that 
Captain  Hickman  says  with  reference  to  the  usefulness  of  the  tugs  and 
tug  men  to  Chicago,  every  intelligent  person  will  agree;  and  no  one  who 
properly  appreciates  the  best  good  of  Chicago  would  do  anything  to 
hamper  the  business  in  the  river,  beyond  a  reasonable  degree.  Of  course 
the  business  on  the  streets  must  also  be  accommodated,  and  each  class,  the 
sailor  and  the  landsman,  should  feel  that  they  are  mutually  dependent, 
and  accordingly  be  willing  to  make  mutual  concessions.  In  judging 
of  our  own  and  others  rights,  we  should  always  endeavor  to  remember 
that  our  rights  are  seldom  absolute,,  but  are  conditional. 


440 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 


THE    LADY    ELGIN    DISASTER. 

On  the  seventh  of  September,  1860,  the  Lady  Elgin,  a  well  known 
excursion  steamer,  Captain  John  Wilson,  with  several  hundred  passengers 
on  board,  was  sunk  in  Lake  Michigan.  The  clei-k  of  the  boat,  H.  G.  Caryl, 
who  was  among  the  saved,  gave  the  following  account  of  the  disaster: 
"The  Lady  Elgin  left  the  port  of  Chicago  at  half  past  seven  o'clock  last 
night  for  Lake  Superior,  with  between  three  and  four  hundred  passengers 
on  board.  Among  them  were  the  Union  Guards,  of  Milwaukee,  com- 
posing a  part  of  some  two  hundred  and  fifty  excursionists  from  this  city. 
About  half  past  two  o'clock  this  morning,  the  schooner  Augusta,  Captain 
Malott,  of  Oswego,  came  in  collision  with  the  Lady  Elgin,  and  when 
about  ten  miles  from  shore,  the  vessel  struck  the  steamer  at  the  midship 
gangway  on  the  larboard  side;  the  two  separated  immediately,  and  the 
Augusta  drifted  by  in  darkness.  At  the  moment  of  the  collision  there 
were  music  and  dancing  in  the  forward  cabin.  In  an  instant  after  the 
crash  all  was  still,  and  in  half  an  hour  the  steamer  sank.  I  passed  through 
the  cabins;  the  ladies  were  pale  but  silent;  there  was  not  a  cry  or  shriek; 
no  sound  but  the  rush  of  steam  and  the  surge  of  the  heavy  sea.  Whether 
they  were  not  fully  aware  of  their  danger,  or  whether  their  appalling 
situation  made  them  speechless,  I  cannot  tell.  A  boat  was  lowered  at 
once,  with  the  design  of  going  around  upon  the  larboard  side  to  examine 
the  leak.  There  were  two  oars,  but  just  at  the  moment  some  person 
possessed  himself  of  one  of  them,  and  we  were  left  powerless  to  manage 
the  boat.  We  succeeded  once  in  reaching  the  wheel,  but  were  drifted 
away  and  thrown  upon  the  beach  at  Winetka.  Only  two  boats  left  the 
steamer;  one  of  them  contained  thirteen  passengers,  all  of  whom  were 
saved;  the  other  bore  eight,  but  only  four  of  them  reached  the  shore 
alive,  the  others  being  drowned  at  the  beach.  Before  I  left  the  steamer, 
the  engine  had  ceased  to  work,  the  fires  having  been  extinguished,  and 
within  thirty  minutes  the  Lady  Elgin  had  disappeared.  The  force 
and  direction  of  the  wind  were  such  that  the  boats  and  fragments  of  the 
wreck  were  driven  up  the  lake  and  would  reach  the  shore  along  in 
the  vicinity  of  Winetka.  As  I  stood  upon  the  beach  helplessly  lookin«- 
back  along  the  route  we  had  drifted,  I  could  see  in  the  gray  of  the  morn- 
ing, objects  floating  upon  the  water,  and  sometimes,  I  thought,  human 
beings  struggling  with  the  waves." 

On  the  morning  of  the  seventh  the  lake  in  every  direction  was  filled 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  441 

with  fragments  of  the  wreck,  to  which  fifty  or  sixty  human  beings  clung 
for  a  time,  but  few,  however,  reaching  the  shore.  The  surf  ran  fearfully 
in  shore,  and  in  almost  every  instance  when  the  rafts  came  within  a  few 
rods  of  the  shore  the  heavy  rollers  would  capsize  them  within  sight  and 
hailing  distance  of  those  on  the  land.  The  CHICAGO  EVENING  JOURNAL 
from  whose  files  these  facts  are  gathered,  contained  the  description  of 
many  thrilling  incidents.  The  saving  of  David  Eviston  and  wife,  of  Mil- 
waukee, created  the  greatest  excitement.  The  gallant  fellow  was  seen 
some  distance  out  upon  the  top  of  the  wheel-house,  holding  his  wife  by 
one  arm  and  clinging  with  the  other  to  his  frail  ark.  As  he  reached  the 
shore  a  fearful  surf  capsized  his  raft,  and  its  burden  was  out  of  sight  for 
several  seconds.  When  they  arose  the  wife  was  at  some  distance  from 
the  raft.  The  husband  left  the  wheel-house,  swam  to  his  wife,  seized 
her  and  again  regained  the  wheel-house.  All  on  shore  held  their  breath 
while  they  approached  a  second  time.  At  one  moment  they  would  appear 
high  in  the  air,  and  the  next  were  buried  out  of  sight  beneath  the  terrible 
surges.  At  last  the  wheel-house  grounded  some  distance  from  the  beach, 
when  the  man,  with  his  wife  in  his  arms,  jumped  off  and  commenced 
wading  to  the  land.  He  had  proceeded  but  a  short  distance  when  he  sank 
exhausted,  when  Edward  Spencer,  a  student  at  the  Garret  Biblical  Insti- 
tute, who  with  a  rope  tied  about  his  body,  had  been  rendering  noble 
service  in  saving  life,  caught  the  exhausted  man  and  brought  him  to  the 
shore. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  ninth,  the  beach  between  Chicago  and 
Lake  View  was  covered  with  people  in  carriages,  on  horseback,  and  on 
foot,  eagerly  scanning  the  still  turbulent  surface  of  the  lake,  for  some 
signs  of  the  poor  humanity  which  had  been  swallowed  up  by  the  waters- 
Now  and  then  some  dark  object  came  in  sight,  tossing  hither  and  thither, 
now  buried  from  view  and  again  appearing.  As  it  neared  the  shore  some 
brave  swimmer  would  plunge  in  and  drag  to  the  shore  the  body  of 
some  unfortunate,  with  disheveled  hair,  distorted  and  blackened  coun- 
tenance and  clayey  garments,  which  for  more  than  two  days  had  been 
the  sport  of  the  waters,  and  was  at  last  reluctantly  yielded  up  to  sleep  in 
a  more  peaceful  grrwe. 

All  along  the  beach  pieces  of  the  wreck  came  ashore,  and  portions 
of  the  lost  steamer's  freight,  carcasses  of  oxen — she  had  some  hundred 
and  fifty  head  of  cattle  on  board,  which  the  captain  ordered  to  be  thrown 
overboard,  immediately  after  the  collision — coils  of  rope,  fenders,  oars, 
barrels  of  flour,  boxes  and  bales  were  thickly  scattered  along  the  beach. 
The  rudder  of  the  boat  was  found  unbroken  and  partially  bedded  in  the 
sand  at  Lake  View;  a  short  distance  further  north  her  figure  head  was 
found  upon  the  beach,  and  at  Evanston  her  immense  arches  and  a  large 
part  of  her  hulk  was  half  buried  in  the  sand  and  clay. 

As  fast  as  the  bodies  were  recovered  they  were  conveyed  to  the  Mar- 
shal's office  in  the  Chicago  Court  House,  in  wagons  and  by  special  train. 
All  day  long  the  Court  House  square  was  filled  with  an  excited  crowd. 


442  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

Many  had  lost  friends,  and  sobs  and  moans,  and  occasional  frantic  shrieks, 
went  up  from  the  vast  throng,  which  swarmed  upon  the  stairs  and  in  the 
areas,  and  even  clambered  up  to  the  windows.  As  each  new  body  came 
in  the  people  pressed  forward,  eager  to  catch  one  glimpse,  fearful  and  yet 
hoping  that  it  might  be  the  body  of  some  friend  or  relative.  Mothers 
were  seeking  for  children  and  children  for  mothers;  husbands  for  wives 
and  wives  for  husbands,  and  as  one  would  be  recognized,  the  flowing 
tears,  piteous  moans  and  wringing  hands,  told  of  the  frantic  grief  of  those 
whom  death  had  bereaved.  Strong  men  who  had  no  friends  among  the 
lost,  yet  wept  like  children. 

Inside  the  Marshal's  office  the  scene  was  appalling.  The  bodies 
were  stretched  upon  the  floor  in  rows.  There  were  gray  headed  men, 
matured  women,  youth  and  infancy.  Some  of  the  faces  were  so  calm 
that  they  seemed  to  be  in  the  repose  of  slumber;  others  were  swollen^ 
disturbed  and  blackened.  Some  were  handsomely  dressed,  while  others 
had  had  their  clothing  torn  into  shreds.  One  sweet  little  child,  about  six 
years  of  age,  chubby  and  white  as  marble,  had  smiled  in  dying,  and  cleath 
had  photographed  that  smile  upon  its  beautiful  face.  There  it  laid, 
a  beautifully  formed  girl  lying  upon  one  side  of  it,  and  a  strong,  gray 
haired  man,  with  lips  firmly  set,  ghastly  staring  eyes  and  fists  firmly 
clenched,  on  the  other.  It  was  a  fearful  picture  of  death. 

The  coroner,  William  James,  impaneled  the  following  jury:  John  C» 
Miller,  foreman;  John  Boorman,  Robert  McLoon,  Dr.  J.  R.  Gore,  N. 
R.  Dean,  G.  Fitch,  G.  Watson,  W.  H.  Reynolds,  G.  H.  Eveleth,  William 
P.  Sanford,  H.  B.  Smith  and  D.  W.  Boss.  After  a  most  thorough  investiga- 
tion the  following  verdict  was  returned  on  the  twenty-fourth  of  September: 

"The  jury  find  that  the  steamer  Elgin  was  thoroughly   inspected   in 
June  previous  to  the  disaster,  and  from  the   evidence  before   them  of  her* 
builders,  the  different  officers  who  have  commanded  her,  and  persons  who 
have  repaired  and  inspected  her,  they  believe  she  was  a  seaworthy  steamer. 

They  find  that  the  evidence  of  the  United  States  inspectors  which 
has  been  before  them,  is  to  the  effect  that  she  was  properly  equipped  with 
boats,  floats,  oars,  axes,  buckets  aud  other  means  of  preserving  life,  in 
accordance  with  the  laws  of  the  United  States. 

They  find  that  they  had  aboard  the  requisite  number  of  officers  and 
crew  and  that  her  officers  were  competent  and  sober  men.  That  her  cer- 
tificate of  inspection  permitted  her  to  carry  three  hundred  passengers,  two 
hundred  in  the  cabin  and  one  hundred  on  deck.  That  on  the  night  of  the 
disaster  she  had  on  board  more  than  three  hundred  passengers;  but  they 
have  no  evidence  of  the  exact  number. 

They  find  further  in  this  regard  that  the  testimony  of  experts  pre- 
sented before  them  was  to  the  effect  that  the  United  States  certificate 
of  inspection  concerning  the  number  of  passengers,  is  given  to  boats  upon 
the  calculation  of  a  certain  number  of  feet  to  each  passenger,  and  that 
five  or  six  hundred  passengers  would  not  be  a  dangerous  load  for  the  Lady 
Elgin;  yet  the  jury  censure  the  owner  and  officers  of  the  boat  for  receiv- 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  443 

ing  aboard  more  passengers  than  the  law  permitted,  and  say  that  it  is 
a  dangerous  and  far  too  common  practice  to  overload  steamboats  on  the 
occasion  of  an  excursion  such  as  the  present. 

They  are  of  the  opinion  that  the  inspector's  certificate  should  be,  in 
all  cases,  strictly  followed  and  enforced,  and  although,  in  this  case,  the 
disaster  seems  not  to  have  been  caused  by  this  excess  of  passengers,  yet 
there  can  be  no  excuse  for  exceeding  the  number  allowed  the  Lady  Elgin 
by  a  legal  certificate. 

The  jury  find  that  the  schooner  Augusta  had  on  board  the  proper 
number  of  officers  and  men;  that  Captain  Malott  of  the  Augusta  is 
a  competent  and  experienced  seaman,  and  that  they  have  no  proof  of  the 
general  competency  and  qualifications  of  the  other  officers  or  of  the  crew 
of  the  Augusta. 

They  find  that  both  the  steamer  and  the  schooner  had  their  lights 
placed  on  the  night  of  the  disaster,  in  accordance  with  the  requirements 
of  the  law,  and  they  consider  the  first  cause  of  the  collision  to  be  the 
defective  arrangement  of  the  lights,  as  appointed  by  law  to  be  carried  on 
sailing  vessels.  Under  the  present -law  a  vessel  when  carrying  a  bright 
light  may  vary  her  course  at  least  eight  points  without  being  obliged  to 
alter  the  color  or  arrangement  of  her  lights,  and  that  the  variation  in  the 
course  of  a  vessel  of  any  one  of  these  points  is  liable  at  any  time  to  prove 
fatal  to  lake  craft. 

The  jury,  as  a  further  cause  of  the  disaster,  censure  the  second  mate 
of  the  schooner  Augusta  for  not  informing  the  captain  of  the  light,  when 
he  came  on  deck  previous  to  the  collision,  and  for  neglecting  to  keep 
watch  of  the  steamer's  lights,' since  he  testifies  that  he  saw  them  three- 
quarters  of  an  hour  previous  to  the  collision,  and  they  further  find  that 
the  second  mate  was  incompetent  to  manage  the  schooner. 

The  jury  further  find  from  the  evidence  before  them,  that  the  schooner 
Augusta  was  seen  by  the  steamer  Lady  Elgin,  some  four  or  five  minutes 
before  the  collision,  and  that  the  wheel  was  put  hard  a  port,  and  that  the 
order  to  place  the  wheel  in  that  position  was  such  a  one  as  experts  testify 
should  have  been  given  under  the  circumstances. 

The  jury  find  further  that  Captain  Malott  is  censurable  for  not  laying 
to,  or  coming  to  an  anchor  and  hoisting  a  light  in  the  rigging,  after  the 
collision,  to  ascertain  whether  the  steamer  was  in  need  of  assistance,  inas- 
much as  he  should  have  been  aware  from  the  shock  of  the  collision  that 
serious  damage  was  clone  to  the  steamer. 

They  find  that  the  captain  and  engineer  of  the  Lady  Elgin  stood  at 
their  'posts  after  the  collision  and  did  their  duty  nobly  to  the  last. 

The  jury  are  of  the  opinion  that  all  lake  passenger  boats  should 
invariably  be  built  with  water  tight  compartments,  and  are  confident  that 
had  this  been  the  case  with  the  Lady  Elgin,  the  community  would  have 
been  spared  the  shock  of  this  lamentable  disaster." 

This  verdict  was  signed  by  John  C.  Miller,  foreman;  William  Roscoe 
Dean,  John  Nelson,  W.  H.  Reynolds,  J.  R.  Gore,  W.  P.  Sanford,  George 


/I  j/j  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

H.  Eveleth,  R.  L.  McLoon,  W.  H.  Castor,  D.  T.  Hale,  Henry  M.  Smith 
and  S.  W.  King.  The  latter  two,  however,  made  the  following  protest: 
"We  have  signed  the  above  with  the  distinct  understanding  of  reserving 
our  right  to  protest  against  its  findings  in  certain  points  wherein  we  are 
constrained  to  a  different  view  as  hereafter  stated.  We  find  that  the  Lady 
Elgin  was  mismanaged,  and  so  censurable,  previous  to  the  collision,  in  the 
following  important  particulars:  Insufficiency  of  her  lookouts.  The  law 
is  distinct  and  explicit  in  requiring  in  her  class  of  passenger-carrying 
steamers,  two  lookouts,  who  'have  no  other  duty,'  nor  can  these  be  made 
to  include  in  any  sense  the  officers  on  deck.  If  custom  and  practice, 
defensible  or  not,  has  induced  in  our  lake  steamers  a  disregard  of  this 
strict  rule  on  ordinary  occasions,  the  night  in  question  was  one  which  in 
our  view  called  for  its  observance  to  a  letter,  where  a  steamer  freighted 
with  four  hundred  passengers  was  running  in  a  stormy  and  tempestuous 
night.  The  evidence  shows  that  the  outlook  was  not  strict,  nor  proper 
and  reasonable  caution  observed.  If  there  were,  as  the  testimony  shows, 
circumstances  by  the  intense  severity  of  the  squall  rendering  it  impossible 
to  command  the  view  to  windward,  it  became  then  of  imperative  necessity 
that  the  steamer  in  her  management  should  have  been  put  into  the  condi- 
tions for  safe  precaution  us.ua!  and  common  in  running  in  such  weather, 
heavy  fog  and  snow  squalls,  or  such  a  tempest  of  wind  and  ra'n  as  was 
at  that  time  prevailing,  such  as  placing  extra,  or  the  legally  required  look- 
outs, slowing  her  rate  of  speed,  and  otherwise  adopting  precautions 
familiar  to  mariners.  There  is  no  evidence  that  either  of  these  was  done. 
On  the  contrary,  the  utter  absence  of  every  such  precautionary  measure 
was  shown.  The  steamer  was  being  run  at  her  usual  speed  when  the 
collision  took  place,  and  her  headway  carried  her  at  once  far  from  the  scene 
of  the  collision  and  away  from  the  colliding  vessel.  We  regret  that  we 
must  differ,  not  only  from  members  of  this  jury,  but  from  official  testimony 
and  statement  upon  points  most  gravely  connected  with  the  responsibility 
of  the  steamer  Lady  Elgin  for  the  results  of  the  disaster  subsequent  to  the 
collision.  From  all  the  facts  in  our  possession  we  ai'e  forced  to  the  con- 
viction that  she  was  illy  and  inadequately  supplied  with  boats.  That 
these  are  not  of  the  description  required  by  law,  and  hence  not  such  as 
should  have  received  the  approval  of  the  marine  inspectors  of  this  port. 
Not  more  than  one  of  the  four  boats  could  be  called  a  'life  boat.'  The 
others  were  ordinary  wooden  ship's  boats,  not  the  best  of  their  class,  and 
in  poor  condition,  while  not  one  of  the  four  was  provided  with  safe 
and  proper  appliances  and  outfit.  Their  means  for  launching  wej-e  de- 
fective and  inefficient.  They  were  supplied  with  neither  oars  nor  life 
lines,  all  of  which  facts  are  abundantly  established  by  the  history  of  this 
disaster  as  given  in  the  testimony  of  survivors.  But  two  of  these  boats 
are  heard  of  in  preserving  life.  One  of  them  is  'thrown  over  the  side.' 
The  stern  boat  is  launched  with  a  single  oar,  and  both  are  used,  as  we  can 
but  believe,  for  the  sole  purpose  of  carrying  a  large  portion  of  the  officers 
and  crew  away  from  the  ill-fated  and  sinking  steamer. 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  445 

We  must  further  express  our  conviction  that  the  steamer's  outfit 
of  life  preservers  was  faulty  and  defective  both  as  regards  the  kind  adopted, 
the  common  plank  float,  and  especially  their  location  on  board  the  steamer. 
The  testimony  shows  that  among  the  early  exertions  of  numbers  on  board 
the  sinking  steamer,  was  the  passing  of  these  life  floats  down  through 
the  windows  of  the  attic  roof  of  the  upper  cabin  to  affrighted  passen- 
gers. It  can  scarcely  be  denied  that  a  means  of  relief  thus  supplied  must 
necessarily  have  been  limited  in  its  efficiency,  and  have  left  very  many 
unreached.  We  do  not  bear  with  much  weight  upon  the  question  whether 
a  greater  outlay  should  not  have  secured  for  the  Lady  Elgin  a  better 
description  of  life  preservers,  as  certainly  such  do  exist,  but  even  granting 
all  that  is  claimed  for  these,  we  have  no  doubt  of  the  impropriety  and 
error  of  thus  placing  the  life  preservers  provided,  remote  from  the  ready 
access  and  reach  of  passengers. 

We  cannot  consistently  with  our  views  of  duty,  too  severely  blame 
the  marine  inspectors  in  thus  allowing  the  humane  and  wise  intents 
of  our  laws  for  the  safety  of  passengers,  to  be  defeated  in  the  manner 
named,  and  we  believe  that  the  loss  of  many  lives  on  this  occasion  is  due 
to  the  culpable  disregard  of  duty.  Until  marine  inspectors'  certificates 
are  less  readily  procured,  and  are  made  to  bear  more  strict  relation  to  the 
actual  state  of  matters  they  are  sworn  to  supervise,  the  only  result  of  their 
official  existence  or  efforts  will  be  but  a  fancied  and  false  security  in  the 
minds  of  passengers,  ready  at  any  moment  to  be  as  rudely  and  fearfully 
dissipated  as  by  the  harrowing-  events  of  the  disaster  of  the  steamer  Lady 
Elgin.  We  call  upon  inspectors  to  adhere  more  strictly  to  the  letter 
of  the  law  in  enforcing  compliance  with  the  same,  regulating  the  outfit 
of  passenger  steamers.  What  changes  might  thus  be  immediately  wrought 
on  board  steamers  now  in  service  is  not  for  the  jury  to  determine,  but  we 
may  express  the  fear  that  the  continuance  of  present  official  neglect  will 
devolve  such  investigations  from  time  to  time  upon  other  jurors  sworn  to 
like  sad  duties  as  our  own." 

The  public,  however,  could  not  reach  the  same  conclusions  as  were 
reached  by  these  dissenting  jurors.  The  Lady  Elgin  was  a  good  boat, 
owned  by  a  gentleman  who  could  not  have  been  induced  by  the  gift  of 
a  world  to  purposely  endanger  the  life  of  a  single  individual,  and  she  was 
in  charge  of  a  competent  and  brave  set  of  officers. 

The  majority  of  those  who  were  lost  belonged  to  Milwaukee.  The 
following,  however,  were  residents  of  Chicago:  John  F.  Morrison,  Richard 
Alexander,  Michael  Rich,  Jerry  Thomas,  Louis  Diehl,  Captain  John  Wil- 
son, W.  W.  Homer,  Margaret  Codd,  Bridget  Foley  and  George  K.  Locke. 

The  Lady  Elgin  was  built  in  Buffalo,  New  York,  in  1851,  by  Bidwell 
&  Banta,  and  made  her  first  trip  to  Chicago  under  command  of  Captain 
Applebee.  She  originally  cost  ninety-six  thousand  dollars,  and  was  esti- 
mated to  be  worth  at  the  time  of  the  disaster  thirty  thousand  dollars,  being 
insured  for  twenty-four  thousand  dollars.  She  was  owned  at  the  time  by 
Gurclon  S.  Hubbard. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 


GYMNASTICS    IN    CHICAGO. 

The  development  of  the  human  form  is  one  of  the  highest  duties 
devolving  upon  the  human  race,  and  one  which  in  our  own  country  is 
becoming  more  and  more  neglected.  The  result  is  seen  in  the  pale 
cheeks  of  not  only  thousands  of  our  women,  but  of  thousands  of  our 
men  as  well.  Not  only  extreme  effeminacy  but  a  weakness  of  the  system 
amounting  to  positive  unhealth  would  seem  to  be  the  grand  object  which 
a  large  proportion  of  American  people  in  our  cities  seek  to  attain.  Our 
young  ladies,  in  entirely  too  many  instances,  avoid  health-giving  exercise 
of  every  character,  and  become  as  the  tender  plant  which  droops  beneath 
the  first  touch  of  frost  or -before  the  first  breath  of  the  hurricane.  Our 
men  from  close  application  to  many  kinds  of  business  deprive  themselves 
of  all  physical  exercise,  and  become  as  weak  as  children.  In  a  city  like 
this  there  are  men  who  do  not  even  walk  the  distance  of  a  dozen  blocks 
in  an  entire  month's  time.  The  inevitable  consequence  of  such  a  flagrant 
outrage  upon  nature,  is  early  decay  and  premature  death.  While  the 
exercises  of  the  gymnasium  may  be  carried  to  an  unwarrantable  extreme, 
and  may  have  some  features  that  are  not  pleasant  to  the  majority  of  people, 
the  gymnasium  is,  nevertheless,  an  unquestionable  public  blessing,  and 
should  be  more  generally  patronized.  It  would  be,  too,  if  in  America 
we  had  not  come  to  regard  money  making  as  the  great  aim  of  life.  We 
abuse  health,  actually  limit  our  real  pleasures,  and  neglect  to  seek  the  full 
development  of  the  most  beautiful  thing  on  earth — a  perfect  body,  in  our 
mad  rush  to  accumulate  fortunes.  In  Chicago  especially,  nine-tenths  of 
our  people  are  endeavoring  to  accomplish  a  vast  deal  more  than  is  possible 
of  accomplishment,  and  the  requirements  of  the  physical  nature  are 
necessarily  slighted. 

In  ancient  times  the  matter  of  physical  development  was  regarded  as 
of  the  highest  importance.  The  Greeks  were  the  first  to  originate  athletic 
exercises,  and  there  appears  to  be  no  doubt  that  they  were  a  part  of  their 
military  training.  Every  free  born  citizen  was  under  obligation  to  take 
up  arms  in  an  emergency,  and  this  necessitated  agility,  strength,  endur- 
ance, skill  in  the  use  of  weapons  and  in  the  use  of  the  chariot.  All  the 
contests  of  the  arena  therefore,  were  simply  preparatory  to  active  warfare. 
The  superior  athlete  was  respected  and  honored  because  he  was  regarded 
as  a  superior  soldier,  one  whose  strong  arms  could  be  relied  upon  in 
conliict  with  his  nation's  foes.  "In  the  first  record  of  athletic  games,'' 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  447 

using  the  words  of  the  Chicago  TRIBUNE,  "those  celebrated  by  the  Epeans 
at  the  funeral  of  their  king,  Amarynces,  the  competitors  were  the  flower 
of  the  youthful  warriors  of  France.  Chief  among  them  was  Nestor.  It 
is  in  his  mouth  that  Homer  has  put  the  recital  of  his  exploits  on  this 
occasion.  Reminded  of  them  by  the  feats  of  the  warriors  who  took  part 
in  the  games  celebrated  at  the  funeral  of  Patroclus,  the  old  man  exclaims: 

'Oh,  had  I  now  the  force  I  felt  of  yore, 
Known  thro'  Buprasiuin  and  the  Pylian  shore! 
Victorious  then  in  every  solemn  game, 
Ordained  to  Amarynces'  mighty  name, 
The  brave  Epeans  gave  my  glory  way, 
.•Etolians,  Pylians,  all  resigned  the  day. 
J  quell'd  Clytomedes  in  fight  of  hand, 
And  backward  hurl'd  Anca?us  on  the  sand, 
Surpass'd  Iphyclus  in  the  swift  career, 
Phyleus  and  Polydorus  with  the  spear.' 

The  aim,  and  to  a  certain  extent,  the  nature  of  the  athletic  exercises, 
underwent  considerable  modification  in  the  course  of  time.  The  pro- 
fessional athletes  came  into  existence,  the  highest  object  of  whose  ambition 
was  the  crown  which  adorned  the  victor's  brow  and  the  laudatory  verses 
of  the  poets;  who  considered  the  useless  triumphs  of  the  arena  a  sufficient 
reward  for  years  of  the  severest  training  and  voluntary  subjection  to 
privation  and  hardships.  Among  the  people,  for  whom  the  games  were 
a  source  of  pleasurable  excitement,  the  athletes  soon  rose  to  be  in  high 
favor.  But  by  those  whose  judgment  was  not  influenced  by  the  unreason- 
ing taste  of  the  multitude,  many  a  protest  was  raised  against  a  profession 
which  they  held  to  be  useless  to  the  State  and  often  pernicious  to  indi- 
viduals." 

But  with  all  the  unpleasant  characteristics  of  ancient  or  modern 
athletic  exercises,  they  are  of  the  highest  usefulness,  under  proper  regula- 
tion. Chicago  has  recognized  their  value  not  only  through  the  connection 
of  some  of  our  most  prominent  citizens  with  some  of  the  gymnasiums 
which  have  been  established,  but  by  maintaining  the  Chicago  Athenaeum, 
than  which  no  better  establishment  of  its  kind  exists  in  the  country.  So 
far  as  an  unusual  degree  of  muscular  development  is  concerned,  Chicago 
stands  almost  abreast  with  the  world.  Kingsley  R.  Olmsted,  whose 
name  appears  elsewhere  in  this  book,  and  who  is  one  of  our  oldest 
citizens,  has  lifted  in  harness  two  thousand  eight  hundred  and  fifty  pounds, 
and  by  hand-lift  one  thousand  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  pounds. 
Charles  K.  Olmsted,  a  son  of  the  first  named,  performed  at  one  time  the 
extraordinary  feat  of  shoving  a  dumb  bell,  weighing  one  hundred  and 
seventy-two  pounds,  arms  length  above  his  head,  twice.  This,  indeed, 
was  a  performance  which  has  never  been  equaled  west  of  New  York  city. 

The  first  gymnasium  was  opened  in  what  was  known  as  Irving  Hall, 
located  at  112  and  114  Randolph  street,  in  1853.  Many  of  the  member- 
ship were  among  the  first  citizens,  and  the  owner  of  the  hall,  M.  C. 
Sterns,  desiring  to  encourage  the  enterprise,  gave  the  members  the  free 


448  CHICAGO  AND  IT«  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

use  of  the  premises  for  six  months.  In  the  Summer  of  1854,  Professor 
H.  G.  Ottignon,  of  New  York,  was  engaged  as  instructor  in  this  institu- 
tion. He  arrived  in  Chicago  June  iSth,  1854,  and  immediately  set  to  work 
organizing  his  classes.  The  success  of  the  institution  was  unmistakable, 
but  it  lasted  only  about  a  month,  when  the  cholera  visited  the  place,  and 
sadly  interfered  with  it.  The  weather,  too,  was  so  excessively  hot — the 
thermometer  ranging  even  as  high  as  one  hundred  and  four  degrees — that 
it  was  almost  impossible  to  enter  upon  any  physical  training.  Cholera 
and  the  weather  succeeded  in  reducing  the  membership  of  the  gymnasium 
to  twelve  persons,  and  by  August  the  funds  were  exhausted.  But  an 
arrangement  was  made  during  this  month  by  which  Professor  Ottignon 
became  the  proprietor,  and  the  institution  was  known  as  Ottignon's  Gym- 
nasium. It  continued  in  existence  until  1860. 

In  1858  the  Olympic  Gymnasium  was  established.  It  was  located  at 
28  Market  street.  At  its  organization  it  had  the  following  membership: 
K.  R.  Olmsted,  President;  David  M.  Ford,  Treasurer  and  Secretary;  W. 
L.  Gray,  Jacob  Clingman,  John  M.  Clark,  Western  Bascomb,  Charles 
F.  O'Brien,  H.  P.  Gray,  J.  H.  Welbeck,  William  A.  White,  Martin  E. 
Ford,  George  M.  Phelps,  W.  A.  Hendrie,  Samuel  Davis,  James  H.  Logan, 
and  R.  B.  Clark. 

While  the  institution  began  life  with  nattering  prospects,  and  was 
successful  for  a  time,  unavoidable  circumstances  combined  to  make  its  life 
a  short  one.  Emigration  to  Pike's  Peak  had  commenced,  and  among 
those  who  sought  that  much  lauded  elevation,  were  many  of  the  Olympic 
members,  and  on  July  nth,  1859,  the  gymnasium  died.  An  event  in 
which  the  lamented  Colonel  Elsworth  figured  is  of  sufficient  interest  for 
record  in  connection  with  this  institution.  Elsworth  and  Kingsley  R. 
Olmsted  engaged  in  a  contest  with  foils,  during  which  the  former  was 
disarmed,  and  his  foil  sent  by  his  antagonist  scaling  along  the  ceiling, 
seemingly  touching  it  all  the  way,  a  distance  of  forty-five  feet,  when  it 
dropped  almost  at  a  right  angle  to  the  floor.  It  was  one  of  the  most 
artistic  feats  ever  performed  in  any  gymnasium. 

In  June,  1860,  the  Metropolitan  Gymnasium  opened,  directly  opposite 
Irving  Hall,  and  was  one  of  the  finest  gymnasiums  in  the  country.  It 
was  conceived  and  managed  by  Curtis  &  Babcock,  who  were  handsomely 
supported  by  the  public,  whose  interest  was  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  on 
the  opening  night  an  audience  of  fifteen  hundred  was  in  attendance.  Mr. 
Babcock  finally  withdrew  from  the  management,  and  W.  H.  Thompson 
succeeded  him,  but  for  some  reason  the  enterprise  was  not  prosperous 
under  the  new  management,  and  it  was  at  last  abandoned.  It  was,  how- 
ever, soon  after  secured  by  Professor  Ottignon,  and  reopened  by  him 
April  ist,  1861.  June  ist,  1863,  it  again  closed. 

In  the  Fall  of  1863  Quitra  &  Blake  leased  the  apparatus  and  opened 
a  gymnasium  in  a  wooden  building  on  Madison  street  between  Clark  and 
LaSalle  streets,  for  a  number  of  years  used  by  and  called  Trinity  Episcopal 
Church.  This  gymnasium  ran  nearly  six  months,  when  it  was  given  up. 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  449 

Professor  Ottignon  was  afterward  induced  by  many  of  his  former 
patrons  to  try  and  open  another  gymnasium.  Accordingly  he  circulated 
a  subscription,  and  quite  a  number  subscribed  ten  dollars  a  year.  The 
next  thing  to  be  done  was  to  find  a  suitable  place.  This  he  finally  found 
in  Benjamin  Lombard's  building,  which  fronted  on  Monroe  street,  and  ran 
back  some  two  hundred  feet.  In  the  rear  end  of  this  building  were  two 
halls,  forty  by  seventy  feet,  with  a  partition  wall  between  them.  Mr.  Lom- 
bard would  not  rent  one  without  the  other,  and  both  were  hired.  Mr. 
Ottignon  had  in  the  meantime  bought  the  apparatus  used  in  the  last 
mentioned  place,  and  opened  his  gymnasium  November  i6th,  1865.  This 
gymnasium  closed  July  ist,  1866.  The  next  gymnasium  was  started  by 
the  Young  Men's  Association,  and  was  opened  at  Kinzie  Hall,  on  the 
North  Side,  on  Kinzie  street.  Louis  Kormandy  was  instructor;  they 
occupied  these  quarters  one  Winter.  Then  they  leased  the  two  upper 
stories  of  a  building  standing  where  now  stands  Burke's  Hotel,  and  ran 
their  gymnasium  until  the  first  fire  at  Farwell  Hall. 

The  next  gymnasium  was  started  by  Louis  Kormandy,  in  the  Fall 
of  1869,  in  Boone  Block,  near  the  corner  of  Madison  and  LaSalle  streets. 
The  following  Winter  Mr.  Kormandy  leased  the  rear  hall  in  the  building 
known  as  the  Metropolitan  Block,  on  the  northwest  corner  of  Randolph 
and  LaSalle  streets.  This  gymnasium  was  run  up  to  the  time  of  the 
great  fire  in  1871.  In  the  Fall  of  1872',  however,  the  same  gentleman 
opened  another  gymnasium  on  the  South  Side,  on  Indiana  avenue,  near 
Twenty-fifth  street.  He  was  succeeded  at  this  place  by  the  Athenaeum 
Gymnasium,  which  was  located  at  this  place  one  Winter,  and  in  the  fol- 
lowing Summer  was  moved  down  town  to  more  suitable  quarters, 
occupying  the  four  floors  of  the  building  in  which  Race  Brothers  are  now 
located,  on  the  south  side  of  Madison  street.  It  was  run  in  this  locality 
until  May  ist,  1875,  when  they  removed  to  65  East  Washington  street, 
and  engaged  the  second,  third  and  fourth  floors.  Professor  Ottignon  was 
engaged  as  instructor  for  the  gymnasium.  He  took  hold  of  this  institution 
the  first  of  June,  1875.  The  membership  increased  rapidly  under  his 
instruction,  and  by  mid-Winter  he  could  count  some  four  hundred  mem- 
bers who  attended  the  gymnasium  alone.  Mr.  Ottignon  continued  in 
charge  until  July  8th,  1876,  when  the  new  superintendent,  Mr.  Furbush, 
took  the  chair,  when  Charles  O.  Duplessis  succeeded  him,  and  has  held  the 
position  ever  since.  Mr.  Duplessis,  like  Professor  Ottignon,  is  a  highly 
successful  teacher.  He  was  born  in  Syracuse,  New  York,  of  French 
parentage,  September  ijth,  l&53-  At  quite  an  early  age  he  displayed 
and  developed  a  taste  for  various  athletic  sports,  and  his  delight  was  to 
compete  with  his  playmates  and  excel  in  the  various  games.  His  father 
being  a  carpenter  contractor,  apprenticed  him  to  his  own  trade,  and  he 
followed  it  ten  years,  and  has  made  good  use  of  his  mechanical  acquire- 
ments in  the  gymnastic  line  of  late  years.  Not  liking  a  trade  as  a  business, 
he  turned  his  attention  to  gymnastics,  hoping  some  day  to  follow  it  for 
a  profession.  He  made  fair  progress  considering  he  had  to  learn  it  with- 


45? 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 


out  an  instructor  or  the  use  of  a  gymnasium.  He  first  excelled  on  the 
horizontal  bar,  and  made  his  first  appearance  before  the  public  in  an 
entertainment  given  at  Lyons,  New  York,  at  the  age  of  sixteen.  He  came 
to  Chicago  in  the  Spring  of  1871  and  became  a  member  of  Kormandy's 
gymnasium  on  the  sixth  of  May,  and  exercised  there  until  the  great  fire, 
which  put  an  end  to  his  practice  for  a  time.  In  1873  he  was  called  to 
St.  Louis,  Missouri,  on  business,  and  while  there  he  had  a  membership  in 
the  Missouri  gymnasium  and  took  regular  exercise. 

Not  liking  that  city  he  returned  to  Chicago  in  1874  and  immediately 
took  exercise  in  the  Christian  Union  Association  Gymnasium — now  called 
the  Athenaeum — 114  East  Madison  street.  He  was  a  participant  in  two 
exhibitions  during  his  term  of  membership,  and  continued  to  take  exercise 
until  he  made  and  put  up  the  apparatus  for  the  Northwestern  University 
gymnasium,  at  Evanston,  Illinois,  February  8th,  1878,  upon  the  completion 
of  which  he  was  engaged  as  the  curator  and  instructor,  this  being  his  first 
employment  as  a  professional  instructor.  While  there  he  took  lessons  in 
fencing  and  boxing  of  K.  R.  Olmsted,  so  as  to  teach  them,  which  he  did 
to  the  students  of  the  college.  The  college  term  closed  the  twenty-third  of 
June  and  he  returned  to  Chicago  and  joined  K.  R.  Olmsted's  gymnasium. 

July  loth,  1876,  he. commenced  to  renovate  the  old  apparatus  at  .the 
Athenaeum,  in  which  he  had  accepted  the  position  of  instructor,  and 
improve  things  generally.  Under  his  management  that  department 
showed  a  decided  increase  of  patronage  from  the  start.  He  organized 
a  team  of  five  picked  gymnasts  to  compete  in  the  tournament  given  at 
Louisville  for  American  gymnasts  between  Chicago,  St.  Louis,  Cincinnati, 
Maysville  and  Louisville.  Gold  medals  were  awarded  to  individuals  who 
excelled  in  their  favorite  acts.  The  Chicago  team  returned  satisfied  with 
the  number  of  prizes  won,  and  the  team  as  a  whole  made  a  very  good 
impression  on  the  fraternity. 

January  loth,  1880,  he  procured  a  patent  on  his  invention  called  the 
Duplessis  Combination  Portable  Gymnasium,  which  combines  all  the  ap- 
paratus required  to  develop  all  the  muscles  of  the  weak  or  strong  without 
any  possible  way  of  straining  the  muscles;  in  fact,  it  is  a  gymnasium  con- 
densed into  a  space  two  feet  square  by  seven  feet  high,  and  is  really 
ornamental,  making  a  very  handsome  article  of  furniture.  He  has  manu- 
factured the  apparatus  for  the  following  institutions:  Omaha  gymnasium, 
Omaha,  Nebraska;  Northwestern  University  gymnasium,  Evanston, 
Illinois;  News  Boys'  Home  gymnasium,  Chicago;  Athenaeum  gymnasium, 
Chicago;  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  gymnasium,  Chicago;  Chi- 
cago University  gymnasium,  Chicago,  and  Shattuck  School  gymnasium, 
Faribault,  Minnesota. 

After  occupying  the  building  at  65  Washington  street  some  two  vears, 
the  new  building  situated  at  50  Dearborn  street  was  leased  and  fitted  up  by 
the  Athenasum  for  a  gymnasium. 

Olmsted  and  Son's  gymnasium  was  opened  on  the  first  day  of  May, 
1876,  on  the  corner  of  Washington  and  Halsted  streets.  It  was  fitted  up 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  4^1 

as  complete  as  any  gymnasium  ever  started  in  the  West,  but  it  was  short 
lived,  having  had  an  existence  of  just  six  months. 

Professor  Ottignon,  whose  name  occurs  so  frequently  in  this  chapter, 
really  may  be  regarded  as  the  foundation  of  the  present  Athenaeum  gym- 
nasium, as  through  his  persistent  efforts  gymnastics  were  developed  until 
they  crystalized  in  this  institution.  He  also  had  a  brother,  recently 
deceased,  who  was  a  celebrated  gymnast,  known  to  the  fraternity  through- 
out the  world. 


45- 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 


CHICAGO    HISTORICAL    SOCIETY. 

The  Reverend  William  Barry  was  the  prime  mover  in  the  formation 
of  this  society,  which  was  organized  June  9th,  1856,  by  the  election  of  the 
following  officers:  President,  William  H.  Brown;  Vice  Presidents,  William 
B.  Ogden,  Jonathan  Young  Scammon;  Treasurer,  S.  D.  Ward;  Secretary „ 
William  Barry.  In  1863,  to  which  time  Mr.  Brown  held  the  office 
of  president  uninterruptedly  from  its  organization,  Walter  L.  Newberry 
became  president,  and  held  the  office  until  his  death,  in  1868,  when  Edwin 
H.  Sheldon  was  elected.  In  1876  Mr.  Sheldon  was  succeeded  by  Isaac 
H.  Arnold,  who  has  occupied  the  position  ever  since.  Mr.  Barry  resigned 
the  office  of  secretary  in  1869,  and  was  followed  by  T.  M.  Armstrong, 
who  was  succeeded  by  J.  W.  Hoyt,  and  he  was  followed  by  William 
Corkran,  who  held  the  position  at  the  time  of  the  great  fire.  B.  F. 
Culver  was  afterward  elected,  and  he  was  succeeded  by  the  present  efficient 
secretary  and  librarian,  Albert  D.  Hager. 

The  following  charter  was  granted  by  the  legislature  February  yth> 

i357: 

WHEREAS,  It  is  conducive  to  the  public  good  of  a  State,  to  encourage 
such  institutions  as  have  for  their  object  to  collect  and  preserve  the  memo- 
rials of  its  founders  and  benefactors,  as  well  as  the  historical  evidences 
of  its  progress  in  settlement  and  population,  and  in  the  arts,  improvements 
and  institutions  which  distinguish  a  civilized  community,  and  to  transmit 
the  same  for  the  instruction  and  benefit  of  future  generations: 

SECTION  i.  BE  IT  ENACTED  BY  THE  PEOPLE  OF  THE  STATE  OP 
ILLINOIS,  REPRESENTED  IN  THE  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY,  That  William  H» 
Brown,  William  B.  Ogden,  J.  Young  Scammon,  Mason  Brayman,  Mark 
Skinner,  Geo.  Manierre,  John  H.  Kinzie,  J.  V.  Z.  Blaney,  E.  I.  Tinkham 
J.  D.  Webster,  W.  A.  Smallwood,  V.  H.  Higgins,  N.  S.  Davis,  Charles 
H.  Ray,  S.  D.  Ward,  M.  D.  Ogden,  F.  Scammon,  E.  B.  McCagg  and 
William  Barry,  all  of  the  city  of  Chicago,  who  have  associated  for  the 
purposes  aforesaid,  be  and  are  hereby  formed  into  and  constituted  a  body 
politic  and  corporate,  by  the  name  of  the  Chicago  Historical  Society,  and 
that  they  and  their  successors,  and  such  others  as  shall  be  legally  elected 
by  them  as  their  associates,  shall  be  and  continue  a  body  politic  and  cor- 
porate, by  that  name,  forever. 

SECTION  2.  Said  society  shall  have  power  to  elect  a  president,  and  all 
necessary  officers,  and  shall  have  one  common  seal,  and  the  same  may 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  453 

break,  change  and  renew  at  pleasure;  and,  as  a  body  politic  and  corporate, 
I  v  the  name  aforesaid,  may  sue  and  be  sued,  and  prosecute  and  defend 
suits,  both  in  law  and  equity,  to  final  judgment  and  execution. 

SECTION  3.  The  said  society  shall  have  power  to  make  all  orders  and 
by-laws  for  governing  its  members  and  property,  not  repugnant  to  the 
laws  of  this  State;  and  may  expel,  disfranchise,  or  suspend  any  member, 
who,  by  his  misconduct,  shall  be  rendered  unworthy,  or  who  shall  neglect 
or  refuse  to  observe  the  rules  and  by-laws  of  the  society. 

SECTION  4.  The  said  society  may,  from  time  to  time,  establish  rules 
for  electing  officers  and  members,  and  also  times  and  places  for  holding 
meetings;  and  is  hereby  empowered  to  take  and  hold  real  or  personal  estate, 
by  gift,  grant,  devise,  or  purchase,  or  otherwise,  and  the  same,  or  any 
part  thereof,  to  alien  and  convey. 

SECTION  5.  The  said  society  shall  have  power  to  elect  corresponding 
and  honorary  members  thereof,  in  the  various  parts  of  this  State,  and 
of  the  several  United  States,  and  also  in  foreign  countries,  at  their  discre- 
tion: Provided,  however,  that  the  number  of  resident  members  of  said 
society  shall  never  exceed  sixty;  and  William  H.  Brown,  or  any  other 
person  named  in  this  act,  is  hereby  authorized  and  empowered  to  notify 
and  call  together  the  first  meeting  of  said  society;  and  the  same  society, 
when  met,  shall  agree  upon  a  method  for  calling  further  meetings,  and 
may  have  power  to  adjourn  from  time  to  time,  as  may  be  found  necessary. 

SECTION  6.  Members  of  the  legislature  of  this  State,  in  either  branch, 
and  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  officers  of  State,  shall  and  may 
have  free  access  to  said  society's  library  and  cabinet. 

SECTION  7.  This  act  shall  take  effect  and  be  in  force  from  and  after  its 
passage. 

The  following  amendatory  act  was  passed  by  the  legislature  and 
approved  by  the  Governor  January  3Oth,  1867: 

SECTION  i.  BE  IT  ENACTED  BY  THE  PEOPLE  OF  THE  STATE  OF 
ILLINOIS,  REPRESENTED  IN  THE  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY,  That  section  five 
of  the  act,  to  which  this  is  an  amendment,  be  so  amended  that  said 
society  shall  have  power  to  increase  the  number  of  its  resident  members, 
from  time  to  time,  to  any  number  that  shall  by  it  be  deemed  expedient. 

SECTION  2.  The  said  society  shall  have  power  to  borrow  money  and 
mortgage  its  real  estate  to  secure  the  same,  to  an  amount  not  exceeding 
twenty  thousand  dollars,  to  be  used  in  completing  and  paying  for  the 
buildings  now  in  process  of  erection  on  the  real  estate  of  said  society. 
And  the  real  estate  and  property  of  said  society  shall  be  exempt  from 
taxation. 

SECTION  3.  This  act  shall  take  effect  and  be  in  force  from  and  after 
its  passage. 

The  society  at  first  occupied  quarters  at  the  corner  of  North  Wells 
and  Kinzie  streets,  but  removed  in  1868  to  the  corner  of  Dearborn  avenue 
and  Ontario  street.  This  building,  which  together  with  the  land  cost  the 
society  sixty  thousand  dollars,  was  entirely  destroyed  in  the  great  fire. 


454 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 


After  this  calamity  the  society  received  a  large  number  of  valuable  books 
from  the  generous  and  public  spirited  in  various  parts  of  the  world,  but 
the  society  seemed  fated,  and  in  the  fire  of  1874  its  new  collection  was 
also  destroyed.  This  misfortune  resulted  in  an  apathy  on  the  part  of  the 
society  for  some  time,  but  in  the  Spring  of  1877  D.  M.  Mitchell  furnished 
gratuitously  a  room  in  Ashland  Block,  and  to  this  the  society  removed 
what  few  books  and  documents  it  had  gathered  together  after  its  second 
baptism  of  fire. 

The  following  bequests  to  the  society  have  been  made:  by  Henry 
D.  Gilpin,  of  Philadelphia,  an  amount,  which  with  its  accumulations,  now 
amounts  to  nearly  fifty  thousand  dollars;  by  Lucretia  Pond,  of  Petersham, 
Massachusetts,  eight  valuable  lots  on  the  southwest  corner  of  Superior 
and  Market  streets,  and  a  fine  collection  of  books,  maps  and  paintings. 

In  January,  1877,  the  society  made  a  move  looking  to  the  erection 
of  a  building.  A  committee  was  appointed  to  raise  funds  for  that  pur- 
pose, and  the  new  building  was  completed  and  occupied  October  i6th,  1877. 

The  following  are  the  present  officers  of  the  society:  President,  Isaac 
N.  Arnold;  Vice  Presidents,  Thomas  Hoyne,  William  Hickling;  Secre- 
tary and  Librarian,  Albert  D.  Hager;  Treasurer,  Henry  H.  Nash; 
Executive  Committee,  Isaac  N.  Arnold,  Ex  officio,  George  F.  Rumsey, 
Levi  Z.  Leiter,  Mark  Skinner,  Edward  G.  Mason,  George  L.  Dunlap, 
William  Hickling,  E.  H.  Sheldon,  W.  K.  Ackerman;  Trustees  of  Gilpin 
fund,  Isaac  N.  Arnold,  Thomas  Hoyne,  Ex  officio,  E.  H.  Sheldon,  George 
F.  Rumsey,  A.  H.  Burley;  Trustees  of  Pond  estate,  E.  H.  Sheldon, 
William  Hickling,  Mark  Skinner. 


455 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 


THE    DRY    GOODS    TRADE. 

The  history  of  the  dry  goods  trade  in  Chicago  has  been  gathered 
from  facts  furnished  by  T.  B.  Carter  and  John  V.  Farwell  at  a  reception 
given  to  the  gentlemen  connected  with  the  trade  by  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association,  on  the  evening  of  December  3Oth,  iSSo.  Mr. 
Carter  stated  that  the  first  retailers  in  dry  goods  that  there  is  any  mention 
of,  were  G.  S.  Hulbei  t,  and  a  Frenchman  named  Cerais,  who  was  attached 
to  the  American  Fur  Company,  and  who  established  himself  in  Chicago 
over  one  hundred  years  ago,  somewhere  about  1750.  To  him  belongs  the 
honor  of  selling  the  first  calico  dress,  blankets  and  shawls.  They  were 
disposed  of,  of  course,  to  the  aboriginal  ladies  in  Chicago,  who  were  pos- 
sibly some  less  fastidious  in  their  tastes  than  the  Chicago  ladies  of  to-day. 
The  line  of  succession  in  the  dry  goods  trade  from  that  time  to  the  present 
cannot  be  traced  with  certainty,  but  in  1816  one  John  Crafts  was  sent 
here  as  an  agent  for  a  Detroit  firm,  and  began  the  sale  of  goods  to  the 
swarthy  residents.  His  line  of  trade  was  in  blankets,  beads,  shawls,  etc., 
which,  of  course,  he  put  in  a  large  supply  of  to  meet  the  holiday  demand. 
After  this  time  dry  goods  were  sold  here  by  the  sutlers  of  the  army,  and 
they  continued  the  sole  merchants  of  the  place  as  long  as  the  military 
post  remained.  John  S.  C.  Hagar,  a  sutler,  came  here  in  1828,  and  in 
1830  he  was  succeeded  by  G.  W.  Dole.  After  this,  in  1830,  T.  W.  Peck 
established  a  dry  goods  store  here,  bringing  on  from  the  East  a  very  large 
stock  of  goods  in  1831.  He  opened  at  the  corner  of  LaSalle  and  Water 
streets.  He  continued  in  trade  until  1838,  when  he  sold  out  to  enter  into 
the  real  estate  business. 

Messrs.  Kimball  &  Porter  opened  on  Water  street  about  this  time, 
and  soon  afterward  came  R.  King,  J.  H.  Woodworth  and  others;  all 
opened  on  Water  street,  which  was  the  fashionable  street  of  the  place 
at  the  time.  In  rainy  weather  the  streets  were  very  muddy,  and  it  was 
not  an  uncommon  sight  to  see  women  driven  to  the  stores  in  two-wheeled 
carts,  which  were  backed  up  to  the  street  doors  that  they  might  safely 
alight  free  of  the  mud. 

Of  the  dry  goods  business  of  the  present  Mr.  Farwell  said:  "The 
dry  goods  trade  of  Chicago,  when  compared  with  that  of  forty  years  ago, 
almost  compels  me  to  say  that  the  pictures  are  inconsistent  with  each 
other,  and  that  therefore  one  or  both  are  incorrectly  drawn,  especially 
if  the  observer  should  not  be  acquainted  with  the  great  country  back 


456  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

of  us,  that  has  made  Chicago  what  it  now  is.  That  a  city  of  forty  years 
should  grow  from  nothing  into  such  magnificent  proportions  in  that  time, 
and  out  of  the  ashes  of  two  annihilating  fires,  may  well  challenge  the 
admiration  of  the  world,  for  nowhere,  in  no  time,  has  there  ever  been  its 
counterpart  in  rapid,  substantial  growth. 

And  here  let  me  say  that  I  think  altogether  too  much  credit  for  such 
result  has  been  given  to  the  men  who  manned  her  business  interests. 
They  are  entitled,  however,  to  full  credit  for  seizing  upon  possibilities 
which  our  magnificent  Northwestern  country  presented  for  development) 
and  utilizing  the  favorable  location  we  have  for  a  grand  commercial 
center  just  as  rapidly  as  their  means  would  permit;  but  broad  acres  in 
every  direction,  stirred  into  life  by  the  all-pervading  locomotive  engine, 
are  the  real  corner-stones  of  our  rapid  growth  and  the  only  foundation 
for  a  permanent  upbuilding  of  great  and  prosperous  cities.  And  yet, 
strange  as  it  may  seem,  some  of  the  leading  dry  goods  merchants  of  thirty 
years  ago  were  opposed  to  railroads,  when  the  first  one  was  projected, 
and  by  the  prodigious  efforts  of  a  few  men,  built  as  far  as  Elgin.  The 
streets  of  Chicago  at  times  were  literally  blockaded  with  wheat  teams, 
coming  from  two  hundred  miles  in  every  direction,  and  these  traders 
furnished  calico  dresses  for  those  farmers,  provided  their  wheat  sold  for 
enough  to  indulge  in  extravagance.  Such  merchants  could  not  afford  to 
lose  that  trade  by  building  railroads.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  they  soon 
retired  from  business,  under  threatened  devastations  from  railroad  connec- 
tions with  the  country. 

One  facetious  member  of  the  legislature  suggested  an  improvement 
on  wagon  transportation  to  save  them  from  such  a  disaster,  viz. :  that 
they  petition  the  General  Assembly  to  make  a  law  requiring  farmers  to 
market  their  wheat  in  two-bushel  baskets,  with  Chicago  as  the  only  port 
of  entry.  Having  been  one  of  those  farmers,  and  having  hauled  wheat 
one  hundred  miles  to  reach  Chicago,  and  then  having  aided  E.  J.  Wads- 
worth,  the  purchaser,  to  elevate  it  with  a  wheel-and-rope  elevator  into  the 
second  story  of  his  warehouse  for  forty-five  cents  per  bushel,  all  told, 
•I  was  practically  prepared  to  enjoy  the  joke,  particularly  as  I  had  to  take 
calico  for  twenty  cents  per  yard  in  part  payment  for  the  wheat.  It  is  also 
needless  to  say  that  I  was  a  strong  railroad  man  mentally,  but  capital 
objections  interfered,  and  so  I  drifted  into  a  dry  goods  clerkship  at  eight 
dollars  per  month,  and  that,  I  suppose,  is  the  reason  I  have  been  requested 
to  say  something  to  you  about  the  dry  goods  business  of  our  city  at  this 
time. 

It  is  said  by  some  that  'the  tailor  makes  the  man  and  the  dressmaker 
the  woman.'  It  is  very  clear  that  in  such  manufactures,  dry  goods  are  by 
far  the  most  important  raw  materials,  though  it  must  be  admitted  at  the 
same  time  to  be  a  great  waste  of  it  at  both  of  these  shops,  and  still,  walk- 
ing dry  goods  advertisements  have  their  advantages.  The  dealer  gets  pay, 
instead  of  paying  for  them.  While  it  may  be  true  that  vaulting  ambition 
sometimes  o'erleaps  itself  in  such  use  of  dry  goods,  it  is  also  true  that 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  457 

the  well-draped  gentleman  and  lady  of  to-day  have  had  their  dignity 
and  gentility  intensified  hy  a  judicious  blending  of  dry  goods,  tailors  and 
dressmakers,  in  the  assured  satisfaction  that,  as  decoration  and  protection 
combined,  their  attire  is  a  vast  improvement  over  the  fig  leaves  and  coats 
of  skins  in  which  Adam  and  Eve  held  their  receptions.  Some  one  has 
also  said,  with  a  great  deal  of  truth,  that  the  dress  of  its  citizens  would 
indicate  the  position  that  any  nation  occupied  in  the  scale  of  education 
and  other  social  advantages.  All  other  things  being  equal,  then,  the  dry 
goods,  made  and  put  on,  indicate  latitude  and  longitude  on  the  map  of  the 
world's  progress. 

A  healthy  Englishman,  with  good  gastronomical  abilities,  would 
name  beefsteak  as  the  mighty  lever  that  moves  the  v,  odd,  and  at  the  same 
time  eat  so  much  mutton  as  to  be  entirely  ashamed  to  look  a  sheep  in  the 
face,  but  who  else  would  think  of  measuring  a  man  by  the  kind  or  amount 
of  his  dinners?  It  is  only  when  one  gets  beyond  physical  want,  and  puts 
himself  inside  of  a  good  coat,  that  he  feels  the  declaration  of  independence 
all  through  him,  and  begins  to  expand  into  the  full  stature  of  a  man. 
The  fine  arts  in  dry  goods  and  dress,  in  any  city,  are  a  big  sign,  in  gold 
letters,  that  all  other  fine  arts  worth  naming  are  found  just  around  the 
corner.  Who  expects  to  see  a  miser,  or  any  of  his  selfish  first  cousins, 
arrayed  in  purple  and  fine  linen,  a  sluggard  or  an  epicure  done  up  in  the 
latest  style  of  fashion?  Or  who  is  there  that  does  not  expect  the  minister 
and  his  flock  to  show  first-class  signs  of  their  civilization  and  piety  in  the 
cut  and  quality  of  their  outer- man  accoutrements? 

So  inflexible  is  this  rule  that  even  the  little  children,  to  say  nothing 
of  children  of  a  larger  growth,  cannot  be  drawn  into  a  church  or  a  Sunday 
school  now-a-days  unless  they  are  well  put  up  in  dry  goods.  No,  not 
with  a  forty-horse  power  engine.  So  it  is  quite  evident  that  there  can  be 
no  pious,  well-behaved  children,  or  men  and  women  of  any  age,  without 
a  liberal  use  of  the  world's  dry  goods  civil  izer.  Can  you  not  see  in  all 
these  facts  the  dignity  of  your  calling,  and  how  soon  the  world  would 
relapse  into  barbarism  but  for  your  benevolent  efforts  to  furnish  all  with 
the  best  possible  outfit  in  which  to  appear  in  public,  and  that  this  is  what 
has  made  Chicago  famous  the  world  over?  What  other  city  could  afford 
to  burn  up,  en  masse,  just  as  an  advertisement,  and  by  so  doing  quadruple 
her  business  in  two  years?  That  old  cow  knew  what  she  was  about  when 
she  kicked  over  the  lamp,  and  made  a  bonfire  of  Chicago  dry  goods. 
Full  of  benevolence,  as  nil  good  cows  are,  she  wanted  to  see  more  dry 
goods  sold  here,  and  so  she  waked  up  our  merchants  by  wiping  them  out, 
just  to  give  them  a  chance  to  demonstrate  what  they  could  do.  Having 
done  it,  I  think  they  should  erect  a  monument  to  that  bovine  queen 
of  merchants  in  memory  of  what  the  fire  did  for  us  all.  St.  Louis  looked 
on  with  a  bloated  census,  feeling  that  rivers  would  yet  make  better  time 
than  railroads,  and  with  a  pen  dipped  in  that  fire,  wrote  our  epitaph. 
A  Chicago  man  happening  to  be  there  the  next  morning  after  the  fire, 
he  hurried  to  the  depot  to  take  the  train  for  Chicago,  just  as  it  was  mov- 


458  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

ing  out.  Cursing  his  luck  with  St.  Louis  manners,  the  ticket  agent 
reminded  him  that  there  was  another  train  next  day.  'Yes,  I  know  that,' 
said  our  friend;  'but  they'll  have  the  town  built  up  before  I  get  there, 
and  I  want  to  see  the  ruins.' 

While  other  cities  have  been  writing  our  epitaphs  those  magnificent 
temples  of  trade  occupied  by  Marshall  Field  &  Company,  Carson,  Pirie, 
Scott  &  Company,  A.  T.  Stewart  &  Company,  Mandel  Brothers,  Charles 
Gossage  &  Company,  Partridge — who  puts  Boston  in  one  store  occupying 
only  half  of  the  sidewalk  at  that — and  a  host  of  others  too  numerous  to 
mention,  sprang  up  like  young  giants,  and  what  were  thought  to  be  tomb- 
stones, marking  the  site  of  a  defunct  city,  are  the  most  magnificent  living 
monuments  of  human  enterprise  on  this  continent,  if  not  in  the  world. 
A.  T.  Stewart  &  Company,  the  pioneers  and  life-long  princes  in  the  dry 
goods  trade  of  New  York  city,  have  made  a  graceful  bow  to  Chicago, 
and  in  pitching  their  tent  here  have  said  to  the  world:  'The  Chicago  drv 
goods  trade  is  to  lead  the  world  in  the  magnitude  of  its  distributions.' 
A  very  few  years  will  demonstrate  the  far-seeing  wisdom  of  that  practical 
prediction  as  to  the  coming  center  of  trade  in  this  country. 

Another  most  wonderful  fact  connected  with  the  dry  goods  trade, 
which  even  Nasby  has. never  alluded  to,  is,  that  after  they  have  gone 
forth  on  their  missionary  tours,  demonstrating  science  and  religion,  civiliza- 
tion, culture,  their  last  days  are  spent  in  making  it  possible  for  greenbacks, 
bank  bills,  government  bonds,  love  letters  and  books  to  make  people 
happy.  While  at  the  same  time,  from  Democratic  and  Republican  rags,  such 
magnificent  sheets  as  the  Chicago  TRIBUNE,  TIMES,  INTER  OCEAN  and 
JOURNAL,  go  forth  daily,  trumpet-tongued,  by  the  millions,  to  slay  more 
ignorance  in  their  very  death,  than  in  the  laces,  lawns  and  shirts  of  their 
former  history  they  had  covered  up.  Did  it  ever  occur  to  you  that  the 
printing  press  was  indebted  to  a  healthy,  vigorous  dry  goods  trade  for  its 
wonderful  efficiency  in  elevating  mankind,  and  that  Chicago  had  the 
greatest  and  most  enterprising  newspapers  in  the  world? 

Having  shown  you  that  the  Chicago  dry  goods  trade  is  in  so  manv 
ways  useful  as  well  as  ornamental,  it  only  remains  to  supplement  this 
preamble  with  a  few  figures  regarding  it,  showing  its  remarkable  growth. 
One  of  the  oldest  houses  in  our  city  for  many  years  has  in  single  days  sold 
more  goods  than  in  a  whole  year  in  1850. 

The  amount  of  capital  employed  in  the  trade,  including  millinery 
and  fancy  goods,  at  this  time  is  about  nineteen  million  dollars,  in  the 
wholesale  and  retail  branches.  Goods  sold  amount  annually  to  about 
ninety  million  dollars.  The  number  of  employes  in  the  wholesale  branch 
of  the  business  is  two  thousand;  in  the  retail  branch,  eight  thousand. 
The  tonnage  handled  may  be  approximated,  from  reliable  statistics, 
gathered  from  some  of  the  large  shippers,  whose  average  in  and  out 
freight  during  the  busy  season  reaches  two  hundred  and  fifty  tons  per 
day,  averages  nearly  one  hundred  tons  for  three  hundred  days  of  the  year, 
making  twenty-five  car  loads  daily  for  a  part,  and  an  average  of  ten  cars  daily 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  459 

for  the  whole  year.  To  handle  this  enormous  amount  of  freight  requires 
in  the  houses  that  do  it  five  or  six  steam  elevators,  and  from  sixty  to  one 
hundred  truck  horses  each  in  the  wholesale  branches  of  the  business. 

Marshall  Field  and  some  others  now  in  the  trade,  who  used  to  help 
man  rope  elevators  and  load  a  few  one-horse  drays,  early  in  the  morning, 
to  clear  the  docks\  for  a  new  day's  work,  never  dreamed  that  they  were 
so  soon  to  be  cheated  out  of  this  healthy  exercise  by  the  encroachment 
of  steam  power.  Nevertheless,  they  seem  to  survive  the  change,  and 
would  be  quite  complacent  over  it  if  the  railroads  would  increase  their 
facilities  for  shipping  in  Chicago  as  rapidly  as  they  are  extending  their  lines 
into  the  country.  Their  shipping  facilities  of  to-day  are  comparatively 
the  one-horse  dray  and  the  rope  elevator.  For  ten  years  no  enlargement 
has  occurred  commensurate  with  the  increase  of  business,  and  the  conse- 
quence is  that  every  day  merchants  are  actually  losing  thousands  of  dollars 
from  detention  of  trucks  at  railroad  depots  waiting  their  regular  turn  to 
unload.  New  lines  of  road  entering  Chicago  which  have  comprehended 
and  provided  a  remedy  for  this  evil,  have  jumped  into  a  large  freight 
business  at  once,  without  any  other  solicitor  than  the  disposition  to  abate 
the  detention  nuisance. 

If  passenger  depots  were  delayed  a  few  years-^-if  necessary — -to  give 
places  to  commodious  freight  accommodations,  it  would  save  a  vast 
amount  of  money  and  profanity  that  must  necessarily  (?)  be  expended  t>y 
pious  merchants  upon  this  crying  evil.  We  are  only  reminding  railroad 
men  of  one  thing  they  have  been  obliged  to  neglect  in  the  multitude  of 
their  pressing  cares,  feeling  sure  that  a  hint  only  is  necessary  for  men 
who  have,  by  their  foresight  and  energy  in  extending  their  lines  of  road, 
made  it  possible  for  our  merchants  to  smother  them  temporarily  in  a  deluge 
of  merchandise.  When  they  get  fairly  out  from  under  this  avalanche 
of  their  own  making,  they  will,  of  course,  get  ready  to  receive  the  next 
one  without  embarrassment  to  themselves  or  their  patrons. 

When  salesmen  sold  goods  by  day,  billed  and  packed  them  at  night, 
and  helped  to  load  those  one-horse  drays  before  breakfast  the  next  morn- 
ing  with  the  result  of  the  previous  day's  work,  that  one-horse  railroad 
to  Elgin  could  manage  to  swallow  all  that  came  very  comfortably.  But 
the  salesmen  of  to-day  are,  like  railroad  men,  busy  and  aristocratic,  having 
no  time  to  handle  boxes,  make  out  bills  and  swear  at  freight  agents. 
They  are  expected  to  handle  men  only,  and  measure  swords  with  each 
other  to  see  which  can  sell  the  cheapest  and  make  the  most  money,  and 
thus  make  railroads  profitable.  As  they  all  succeed,  the  evidence  is  con- 
clusive that  none  but  the  ablest  talents  can  enter  that  fraternity,  and  indeed 
they  are  a  splendid  class  of  full-grown  men.  Being  obliged  to  make 
a  study  of  human  character,  they  become  adepts  in  analyzing  that  harp 
of  a  thousand  strings,  and  tuning  it  to  suit  their  own  music,  and  there 
would  not  be  much  music  in  any  house  if  its  principals  in  management 
did  not  graduate  from  this  brotherhood. 

And  now  let  us  all  take  off  our  hats  to  the  great  Northwest,  which  has 


460  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

furnished  the  motive  power  to  make  the  Chicago  dry  goods  trade  what 
it  is,  and  while  we  have  given  our  best  ability  in  the  past  to  meet  the 
wants  of  our  patrons,  let  us  not  rest  content  until  every  possibility  in  that 
direction  has  been  developed  to  its  utmost,  and  we  then  need  have  no 
fear  from  any  rivals  in  any  point  of  the  compass,  in  our  future  efforts 
to  make  Chicago  one  of  the  largest  distributing  points  in  the  known 
world." 

Of  course  Mr.  Farwell's  modesty  did  not  allow  him  to  refer  to  his 
own  great  establishment.  The  dry  goods  house  of  J.  V.  Farwell  &  Com- 
pany is  one  of  the  best  known  in  the  country,  and  is  the  harvest  of  great 
ability  judiciously  directed  and  uncompromising  honor.  The  magnificent 
building  occupied  by  the  firm,  at  the  corner  of  Monroe  and  Market 
streets,  is  one  of  the  most  elegant  and  commodious  structures  in  Chicago. 
John  V.  has  been  ably  assisted  in  building  up  the  enormous  business 
of  the  Farwells  by  his  brother,  Charles  B.,  a  representative  in  the  Congress 
of  the  United  States. 


461 


CHARLES  FOLLANSBEE. 


The  subject  of  the  following  sketch  is  another  of  the  few  remaining 
pioneers  who  stood  by  the  cradle  of  this  present  great  city,  and  whose 
enterprise  and  personal  character  laid  the  firm  foundation  upon  which 
they  and  others  have  builded  so  grandly.  No  more  substantial  and 
beautiful  monument  to  courage,  ability  and  achievements  will  ever  be 
erected  than  these  men  have  built  to  commemorate  their  own,  upon  the 
spot  on  which  they  have  converted  rudeness  into  artistic  elegance  and 
poverty  into  commercial  greatness  and  wealth.  Amidst  the  constantly 
increasing  bustle  of  the  busy  humanity  which  has  gathered  and  is  gather- 
ing here,  and  the  effacement  of  old  land  marks  which  rapid  development 
demands,  the  voices  of  the  substantial  fathers  of  the  city  will  always 
echo,  and  their  early  footprints  will  always  be  visible.  Posterity  has 
never  had  a  sublimer  example  of  human  conduct  or  greater  encourage- 
ment in  human  effort  than  -is  furnished  in  the  history  of  those  whose 
early  sacrifices  in  pioneer  life  were  the  germ  from  which  has  sprung  one 
of  the  most  important  communities  in  the  world.  With  the  biographies 
of  these  men  in  his  hands,  the  young  man  of  to-day  can  readily  learn 
the  secret  of  life's  success,  which  he  will  find  to  be  moral  courage,  indus- 
try, honesty  and  integrity.  With  this  capital  the  early  settlers  of  Chicago 
embarked  in  the  work  of  establishing  civilization  here,  and  the  harvest 
of  these  virtues  is  the  magnificent  reality  which  presents  itself  in  beauti- 
ful Chicago,  and  in  the  exalted  esteem  in  which  our  pioneers  are  held. 
Nor  do  any  of  our  old  settlers  merit  more  consideration  than  he  whose 
life  we  shall  here  sketch,  and  which  has  been  distinguished  for  its 
exceptional  purity,  uprightness,  vigor  and  enterprise.  With  his  New 
England  training,  a  stout  heart  and  willing  hands,  he  came  to  the  frontier, 
and  quietly  but  persistently  applied  himself  to  the  discharge  of  duty,  and 
while  aiding  to  build  up  the  city,  established  for  himself  an  enviable 
reputation  and  accumulated  a  competence.  Striving  through  life  to  thor- 
oughly do  whatever  he  undertook,  his  life  presents  an  unusual  completeness, 
and  the  city  oi  his  adoption  is  reaping  the  benefits  of  his  fidelity  and 
industry. 

Charles  Follansbee  was  born  in  Paxton,  Worcester  county,  Massa- 
chusetts, October  i4th,  1810,  and  is  the  son  of  Ebenezer  Follansbee  and 
Clarissa  Taft.  The  father  was  a  scythe  manufacturer,  and  carried  on 
an  extensive  business  at  Milbry,  Massachusetts,  for  many  years,  having 


462  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

served  his  apprenticeship  with  Colonel  Paul  Whitin,  of  Northbridge. 
His  father  was  Thomas  F.  Follansbee,  a  sea  captain,  and  his  mother  Ann 
Choate,  of  Boston.  Clarissa  Taft,  the  mother  of  our  subject,  was  the 
daughter  of  Israel  Taft,  and  of  one  of  the  oldest  families  in  Northbridge. 
In  1820  the  family  removed  to  Watertown,  New  York,  where  the  elder 
Follansbee  erected  a  large  factory  and  continued  his  old  business.  Young 
Follansbee  spent  his  childhood  and  early  manhood  at  home,  securing  a 
good  common  school  education,  and  learning  the  trade  of  his  father,  in 
whose  establishment  he  worked  until  he  was  twenty-five  years  of  age^ 
when  the  spirit  of  enterprise  led  him  to  seek  a  broader  field  for  the  exer- 
cise of  his  natural  abilities.  The  West,  to  his  keen  foresight,  presented 
such  opportunities  as  he  craved,  and  he  started  for  Chicago,  arriving  here 
in  Mav,  1836.  To  a  less  observing  and  penetrating  mind  there  was 
nothing  at  that  lime  to  suggest  even  ordinary  advantages  for  success,  but 
Mr.  Follansbee,  while  probably  not  even  dreaming  of  what  the  future 
has  developed,  was  satisfied  that  Chicago  had  a  future  of  importance,  and 
that  it  was  a  good  point  for  a  young  man  to  expend  his  energies. 

Very  soon  after  his  arrival  he  embarked  in  the  dry  goods  and  general 
store  business,  wholesale  and  retail,  on  Lake  street,  which  he  prosecuted 
for  fifteen  years,  when  failing  health  compelled  him  to  retire,  and  he  spent 
a  year  in  Europe.  Upon  his  return  he  devoted  himself  to  the  business  of 
real  estate  and  building,  erecting  in  the  city  over  one  hundred  buildings, 
an  achievement  which  shows  how  intimately  his  enterprise  has  beeu  con- 
nected with  the  growth  of  Chicago.  In  1865  he  embarked  in  banking, 
under  the  style  of  C.  Follansbee  &  Son,  and  continued  in  that  business 
until  May,  1877,  when  on  account  of  failing  health,  he  retired.  In  all 
his  business  enterprises  and  intercourse  with  the  world  he  has  been 
straightforward  and  scrupulously  honest,  and  although  having  passed 
through  turbulent  periods,  during  which  many  around  him  were  finan- 
cially ruined,  it  must  be  a  fertile  source  of  pride  and  comfort  to  him  to 
be  able  to  say  that  he  always  paid  one  hundred  cents  on  the  dollar. 

Mr.  Follansbee  was  married  February  5th,  1835,  to  Sally  Merriam 
Coburn,  daughter  of  Honorable  Merrill  Coburn,  of  Watertown,  New 
York,  and  six  children  have  been  born  unto  them,  three  of  whom  are 
now  living:  Merrill  Coburn,  born  July  22d,  1838;  William  Pitt,  born 
October  29th,  1841 — died  February  28th,  1876;  Charles  Alanson,  born 
January  29th,  1845 — died  January  4th,  1851;  Frank  Henry,  born  April 
6th,  1850;  Charles  Ebenezer,  born  June  24th,  1855,  and  Marcia  Clarissa, 
born  August  3d,  1859 — died  August  6th,  1860. 

During  his  long  life  Mr.  Follansbee  has  been  unpretentious  in  man- 
ner, but  has  in  the  midst  of  his  marked  success  prominently  shown  those 
traits  of  character  which  endear  men  to  their  friends  and  neighbors — 
modesty,  fidelity  to  friendships,  and  consideration  of  the  feelings  and 
rights  of  others.  In  his  private  life  he  has  been  exemplary,  and  as  he 
looks  back  upon  his  useful  career,  and  considers  the  esteem  in  which  he  is 
held,  his  life  must  appear  eminently  satisfactory  to  him. 


463 


POTTER  PALMER. 


Potter  Palmer,  the  first  merchant  prince  of  Chicago,  is  a  native  of 
Albany  county,  New  York.  His  grandparents  moved  thither  at  an  early 
day  from  New  Bedford,  Massachusetts.  They  were  Quakers,  as  were 
most  of  the  families  of  that  once  important  seaport  town.  During  the 
Revolutionary  War,  it  was  sacked  by  the  British,  the  ancestors  of  Mr. 
Palmer  being  among  the  sufferers.  One  of  his  grandfathers  was  a  mere 
lad  at  the  time.  The  other  grandfather,  although  only  fifteen  years  of 
age,  enlisted  in  the  army  of  Independence,  and  served  with  honor  until 
he  received  a  wound  that  made  him  a  cripple  for  life. 

His  father,  Benjamin  Palmer,  was  an  extensive  farmer.  He  died  in 
1859,  being  in  the  sixty-eighth  year  of  his  age.  His  mother,  whose 
maiden  name  was  Rebecca  Potter,  was  born  in  179.^.  Both  parents  were 
members  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  and  to  their  wise  and  gentle,  yet  firm 
training,  Mr.  Palmer  is  accustomed  to  attribute  his  success  in  life.  More 
austere  than  the  present  standard  of  parental  discipline  requires,  they 
taught  him,  from  early  boyhood,  the  preciousness  of  time,  and  when  not 
at  school  he  was  expected  to  be  at  work.  The  habit  of  industry  thus 
formed  he  has  always  adhered  to,  and  it  has  enabled  him,  in  after  life,  to 
conduct  an  extensive  and  complicated  business  requiring  an  incredible 
amount  of  labor. 

At  the  age  of  eighteen,  he  was  permitted  to  choose  his  occupation 
for  life,  and  having  long  cherished  a  preference  for  mercantile  pursuits, 
he»  engaged  in  the  store  of  the  Honorable  Piatt  Adams,  in  Durham, 
Greene  county,  New  York,  as  a  clerk,  his  employer  being  both  banker 
and  merchant.  With  him  he  remained  three  years,  being,  the  third  year, 
intrusted  with  the  entire  management  of  the  concern,  and  conducting  it 
to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  his  employer. 

Arriving  at  his  majority,  he  resolved  to  be  his  own  master  in  the  full 
sense  of  the  term,  and  accordingly  opened  a  store  at  Oneida,  New  York. 
He  remained  in  business  there  only  two  years  and  a  half.  Oneida  was  a 
thrifty  country  village,  but  to  a  young  man  of  Mr.  Palmer's  large  ideas 
and  rare  commercial  talent  it  offered  no  adequate  inducements  for  perma- 
nent settlement.  He  removed  to  Lockport,  a  much  larger  place,  but 
continued  there  only  one  year.  Believing  that  he  possessed  a  talent  to 
manage  a  larger  business  than  it  was  possible  to  do  here,  he  removed 
to  Chicago,  and  opened  a  dry  goods  store.  Beginning,  at  first,  on  a 


464  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

moderate  scale,  his  trade  rapidly  and  steadily  increased  until,  after  at, 
experience  of  thirteen  years,  the  name  of  Potter  Palmer  became  familiar 
to  the  entire  trading  community  of  the  West. 

Mr.  Palmer  always  had  a  true  appreciation  of  the  commercial  facili- 
ties of  Chicago,  and  did  not  hesitate  to  incur  the  risk  demanded.  The 
rise  in  goods  soon  after  the  beginning  of  the  war  found  him  with  a  full 
stock  on  hand;  and  here  again,  his  far-seeing  judgment  enabled  him  to 
take,  at  its  ebb,  the  tide  that  led  on  to  greater  fortune,  and,  from  the 
beginning  of  the  war,  he  continued  to  carry  immense  amounts  of  goods, 
both  here  and  in  New  York,  reaping  large  gains  from  every  advance, 
knowing  as  well  when  to  sell  as  when  to  buy. 

During  the  war  Mr.  Palmer  was  unwavering  and  practical  in  his 
loyalty.  He  rendered  himself  specially  serviceable  to  the  government 
by  loaning  it  large  amounts  of  money,  undeterred  by  apprehension  of 
failure  or  repudiation;  and  at  the  close  of  the  war  the  government  was 
in  his  debt  to  the  extent  of  over  three-quarters  of  a  million  of  dollars. 

After  retiring  from  mercantile  pursuits,  Mr.  Palmer  invested  largelv 
in  real  estate  in  Chicago,  and  has  not  been  content  simply  to  make  judi- 
cious investments  and  then  wait  for  the  irresistible  and  rapid  growth  of 
the  city  to  enhance  the  value  of  his  property,  but  has  expended  large 
amounts  in  improvements. 

By  reason  of  the  great  fire,  Mr.  Palmer's  losses  were  immense. 
Many  beautiful  and  valuable  buildings  were  destroyed,  among  which 
was  the  magnificent  store  on  the  northeast  cornei  of  State  and  Washing- 
ton streets,  six  stories  in  height.  This  was  acknowledged  to  have  been 
the  finest  building  devoted  to  purposes  of  trade,  to  be  found  in  the  United 
States.  Although  so  great  a  loser  by  the  calamity,  Mr.  Palmer  would  not 
yield  to  discouragement,  but  set  to  work  to  repair  his  misfortunes. 
Numerous  large  buildings,  ornate  and  elegant,  now  grace  the  rebuilt  city, 
and  owe  their  origin  to  the  enterprise  and  ability  of  Mr.  Palmer.  The 
most  prominent  of  the  buildings  erected  by  him  since  the  fire,  is  the  Palmer 
House.  This  magnificent  hotel,  in  the  elegance  of  its  design  and  finish 
and  its  complete  and  costly  appointments  excels  any  similar  building  in 
the  United  States. 

Mr.  Palmer  entertains  a  just  pride  in  Chicago,  and  has  spared  no 
pains  nor  effort  to  render  it  the  first  city  of  the  continent  in  the  beauty 
of  its  streets,  and  the  uniform  magnificence  of  its  buildings. 

The  great  secret  of  Mr.  Palmer's  success  is  to  be  attributed  in  part, 
to  his  excellent  judgment  and  tireless  energy,  but  more  to  the  fact  that 
he  has  always  been  strictly  honest  and  upright  in  his  dealings.  None 
of  his  large  fortune  has  been  accumulated  at  the  expense  of  others;  or 
the  contrary,  many  are  largely  indebted  to  him  for  their  present  pro.s 
perity,  while  the  city  in  which  he  accumulated  his  wealth,  as  in  the  past, 
will  in  the  future  be  greatly  benefited  and  adorned  by  the  prolific  expend- 
iture of  the  large  capital  that  a  munificent  providence  has  placed  at  his 
disposal. 


JOHN  V.  FARWELL. 

John  V.  Farwell  is  the  son  of  Henry  and  Nancy  Farwell,  who  at 
the  time  of  his  birth,  July  29th,  1825,  lived  upon  a  farm  in  Steuben 
county,  New  York. 

John  V.  was  the  third  of  four  brothers,  and  in  common  with  them, 
spent  his  Summers  in  farm  work  and  his  Winters  in  the  district  school. 
Thus  both  body  and  mind  were  educated  until  his  thirteenth  year.  The 
foundation  of  enduring-  health  was  laid,  and  the  essentials  of  a  good  edu- 
cation acquired.  He  gave  evidence,  even  at  this  early  age,  of  that  capacity 
for  achievement  for  which  he  has  since  become  distinguished.  He  was 
the  projector  and  the  prime  worker  in  the  erection  of  the  first  brick 
house  in  the  county,  and  in  similar  enterprises  showed  the  energy  he 
possessed. 

The  family  removed  to  Ogle  county,  Illinois,  in  1838,  where  their 
hardships  multiplied.  They  now  began  frontier  life  of  the  most  toilsome 
and  wearisome  description,  as  the  country  was  new,  and  the  farm  an 
unbroken  prairie. 

When  sixteen  years  of  age,  young  Farwell  entered  Mt.  Morris 
Seminary,  and  there  completed  his  education.  He  was  poor  in  this 
world's  goods,  but  rich  in  those  qualities  and  faculties  which  render 
worldly  possessions  easy  of  acquisition.  While  there  he  received  the 
appointment  of  editor  of  the  seminary  paper. 

It  was  while  attending  the  seminary  that  young  Farwell  decided  to 
make  a  place  for  himself  in  the  world.  He  mastered  the  practical  and 
elementary  branches  with  a  view  to  a  life  of  business,  and  a  will  bent 
upon  excelling  in  it.  He  learned  book-keeping  and  taught  it.  He  was 
expert  in  figures  and  ready  with  the  pencil,  whether  in  mathematics  or 
composition.  He  was  blessed  with  considerable  versatility  of  genius, 
and  made  it  a  point  so  to  equip  himself  as  to  be  equal  to  whatever  might 
occur  in  the  way  of  employment  when  he  should  make  his  appearance 
upon  the  stage  of  affairs. 

At  fourteen  years  of  age  he  became  a  member  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church.  He  had  thoughts  of  doing  good  as  well  as  getting 
gain,  and  already  was  planning  the  benevolent  uses  to  which  he  would 
devote  his  future  wealth. 

In  the  Spring  of  1845,  he  came  to  Chicago  with  but  three  dollars 
and  seventy-five  cents  in  his  pocket,  working  his  passage  upon  a  load  of 


466  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

wheat.  The  road  was  a  canal  of  mud,  and  driver  and  passenger  fre- 
quently had  to  put  their  shoulders  to  the  wheel,  or  their  hands  to  the 
lever.  They  accomplished  their  ninety-five  miles  in  four  days.  Reaching 
Chicago,  young  Farwell  obtained  employment  in  the  County  Clerk's 
office,  at  tw*elve  dollars  a  month.  He  reported  the  proceedings  of  the 
Common  Council  at  two  dollars  per  report.  However,  having  a  keen 
sense  of  the  ridiculous,  he  gave  offense  by  reporting  too  graphically  the 
proceedings  of  the  City  Fathers,  whose  feelings  of  dignity  interfered, 
and  the  young  man  was  deposed  from  his  office. 

Previously  to  this,  Mr.  Farwell  had  engaged  himself  as  book-keeper 
in  the  dry  goods  establishment  of  Messrs.  Hamilton  &  White,  at  eight 
dollars  a  month,  for  one  year,  at  the  end  of  which  time  he  was  offered 
better  wages  and  better  prospects  by  the  house  of  Messrs.  Hamlin  &  Day, 
which  he  accepted.  From  there  he  entered  the  employ  of  Messrs.  Wads- 
worth  &  Phelps,  dry  goods  merchants,  where  his  wages  were  six  hundred 
dollars  a  year. 

Small  as  his  first  year's  salary  was,  Mr.  Farwell  gave  one  half  of  it 
to  the  church  of  which  he  was  a  member.  He  had  a  high  motive  in 
wanting  to  be  rich.  His  benevolence  and  acquisitiveness  united  in  eleva- 
ting him  to  a  great  ambition. 

His  aptness  for  business  was  soon  apparent.  He  had  skill  in  trading, 
in  managing  and  in  planning,  and  energy  adequate  to  the  carrying  out 
of  his  plans.  Besides  this,  he  was  one  of  the  few  who  realized  the 
possibilities  of  the  Noi'thwest,  and  foresaw  the  destiny  of  Chicago.  In 
1851,  he  became  a  partner  in  the  firm  he  had  served  as  salesman.  His 
hand  was  felt  upon  the  helm  immediately,  and  his  word  had  weight  in 
the  councils  of  the  concern. 

In  1856,  through  Mr.  Farwell's  persistency,  a  wholesale  mart  on 
Wabash  avenue  was  built.  The  undertaking  was  stoutly  opposed  by  the 
oldest  member  of  the  firm  at  that  time.  The  enterprise,  however,  proved 
successful,  and  Mr.  Farwell  increased  in  philanthrophy  as  he  increased 
in  means  for  exercising  it.  A  desire  to  benefit  humanity  became  the 
object  of  his  alert  solicitude  and  unremitting  liberality. 

In  1856,  he  started  the  Illinois  Street  Mission.  It  was  designed 
especially  to  reach  saloon  boys,  but  it  rapidly  grew  into  proportions  that 
embraced  all  classes  of  outcast  children,  and  from  feeble  beginnings  it 

'  O  O 

expanded  into  a  large  church  and  Sunday  school.     For  ten  years   Mr. 
Farwell  was  the  superintendent  of  the  Mission. 

During  our  civil  war,  Mr.  Farwell's  Christian  philanthrophy  and 
patriotic  zeal  were  conspicuous  and  telling.  He  was  one  of  the  prime 
movers  in  raising  the  Board  of  Trade  Regiment,  as  well  as  the  forty 
thousand  dollars  which  its  equipment  and  shipment  cost.  In  the  furnish- 
ing of  men  and  money  for  the  national  army  he  was  always  foremost. 
He  contributed  liberally  to  the  Sanitary  Commissions,  exerting  himself 
continually  for  the  support  of  all  who  participated  in  the  struggle  for  the 
preservation  of  the  Union. 


CHICAGO  AND   ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  467 

In  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  Mr.  Farwell  has  always 
shown  a  deep  interest,  and  for  its  noble  work  an  enthusiastic  love.  To 
him  perhaps,  more  than  to  any  other  man,  is  it  indebted  for  its  present 
prosperous  and  promising  condition. 


468 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 


TERRIBLE    BALLOON    CATASTROPHE. 

In  connection  with  ballooning,  one  of  the  most  heartrending  disasters 
which  has  ever  formed  a  part  of  the  history  of  Chicago,  happened  on 
or  about  July  I5th,  1875,  to  a  balloon  and  its  occupants  which  ascended 
from  the  lake  shore.  The  air  ship  was  under  command  of  Professor 
Donaldson,  who  was  under  engagement  with  P.  T.  Barnum,  whose  show 
was  exhibiting  here,  to  make  a  daily  ascension.  Donaldson  was  a  man 
of  considerable  experience  as  an  aerial  navigator,  and  this  fact  seemed 
to  have  largely  induced  forgetfulness  of  the  fact  that  beyond  a  certain 
limit,  experience  is  of  no  more  worth  in  the  air  than  inexperience  would 
be.  The  show  with  which  he  was  connected  had  been  on  the  lake  front 
during  the  entire  week,  and  the  unfortunate  aeronaut,  accompanied  by 
members  of  the  press  and  others,  had  made  successful  ascensions  each  day 
until  the  one  on  which  the  fatal  ascension  was  made,  but  they  were 
entirely  uneventful.  The  previous  evening  the  morning  papers  had  sent 
representatives  with  Professor  Donaldson  in  his  flight  through  the  air,  and 
on  Thursday,  July  fifteenth,  it  was  arranged  for  the  representatives  of  the 
evening  papers  to  accompany  the  aeronaut.  Unfortunately  the  weather 
was  very  threatening,  and  the  wind  was  in  a  direction  to  carry  the  balloon 
directly  over  the  lake.  It  seemed  to  the  vast  multitude  who  witnessed 
the  ascension,  foolhardy  in  the  extreme  for  Professor  Donaldson  to  venture 
up  under  such  circumstances,  but  his  apparent  confidence  inspired  confi- 
dence in  those  who  were  to  accompany  him,  and  who  were  not  supposed 
to  possess  the  knowledge  concerning  such  matters  that  Donaldson  ought  to 
have  possessed.  The  time  came  for  the  departure  of  the  balloon.  Newton 
S.  Grimwood,  a  reporter  on  the  Chicago  EVENING  JOURNAL,  and  Mr. 
Maitland,  of  the  EVENING  POST,  were  in  the  basket  with  the  Professor. 
For  some  reason  it  was  found  desirable  to  leave  one  of  the  passengers 
behind,  and  Mr.  Grimwood  and  Mr.  Maitland  drew  lots  to  decide 
which  should  be  the  lucky  or  unlucky  man,  the  unlucky  one,  as  events 
proved,  being  the  former.  With  Mr.  Grimwood  in  the  basket  and 
Professor  Donaldson  in  the  rigging,  the  weights  were  detached  and  the 
great  air  ship 

"Spurning  with  her  foot  the  ground, 

With  an  exultant,  joyous  bound 

She  leaped" 
off  into  space.     Mr.  Grimwood  was  observed  waving  his  hat  with  sur- 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  469 

prising  coolness,  while  the  balloon  took  a  northeasterly  course  over  the 
lake.  On  the  morning  of  the  sixteenth,  the  papers  were  eagerly  scanned 
in  order  to  learn  the  destiny  of  the  daring  voyagers;  but  nothing  had 
been  heard  from  them.  It  was  supposed  that  they  had  come  down  in 
some  out-of-the-way  place,  where  communication  could  not  readily  be  had 
by  telegraph.  With  considerable  anxiety  the  public  waited  for  the 
appearance  of  the  evening  journals,  but  they  contained  little  that  was 
definite  or  satisfactory.  The  only  actual  intelligence  which  they  conveyed 
was  that  the  schooner,  Little  Guide,  which  had  arrived  here  in  the  morn- 
ing, reported  seeing  the  balloon  about  thirty  or  forty  miles  off  Grose 
Point,  which  is  about  twelve  miles  from  Chicago.  The  wind  was  then 
carrying  the  balloon  toward  Muskegon,  a  distance  of  about  one  hundred 
and  twenty  miles.  When  first  seen  by  the  Little  Guide,  the  air  ship  was 
skimming  along  close  to  the  surface  of  the  water;  suddenly  it  rose  to 
quite  an  altitude,  but  soon  afterward  settled  down  close  to  the  water,  and 
did  not  rise  again  while  in  sight  of  those  aboard  the  schooner.  The 
schooner  attempted  to  render  assistance,  but  the  balloon  was  going  so 
much  faster  than  the  schooner  could  sail  that  the  project  had  to  be 
abandoned. 

People  now  began  to  conjecture,  and  balloons  began  to  be  seen! 
Perhaps  the  landing  had  been  made  in  the  wooded  districts  of  Michigan, 
in  which  case  it  might  be  days  before  any  tidings  could  come  from  the 
aeronauts,  even  indeed  if  they  did  not  perish  from  hunger  before  they  could 
reach  civilization.  Everybody  outside  of  Chicago  seemed  fx>  be  able  to 
see  a  balloon  every  time  they  looked  into  the  air,  and  the  consequence 
was  that  hope  was  kindled  by  such  groundless  reports,  even  days  after 
it  was  absolutely  certain  that  the  balloon  could  not  sustain  itself  in  the  air. 

The  excitement  now  began-  to  run  high.  On  the  street,  in  the 
counting  rooms,  offices  and  houses  of  the  city,  the  absent  men  were 
the  subject  of  earnest  conversation.  The  more  thoughtful  even  thus 
early  began  to  believe  that  poor  Donaldson  and  Grimwood  would  never 
come  back  to  tell  their  experiences  while  sailing  through  the  clouds  and 
fearful  storm.  The  proprietors  of  the  EvENiNg  JOURNAL,  Mr.  Barnum, 
and  all  who  were  more  intimately  connected  with  either  of  the  men,  were 
eagerly  sought  for,  as  if  they  could  possibly  know  more  than  others. 
The  JOURNAL  early  feared  the  worst,  and  took  occasion  to  say,  what  the 
public  well  knew  before,  that  the  editors  did  not  direct  Mr.  Grimwood 
to  accompany  Donaldson,  but  that  they  consented  in  deference  to  his 
wishes  to  do  so. 

The  daily  journals  on  the  third  day  bore  at  the  head  of  their  columns 
referring  to  the  matter,  the  ominous  words,  "No  News;"  and  the  JOURNAL 
added:  "Probability  that  Donaldson  and  Grimwood  Will  Never  Return." 
Now  came  the  period  of  accusation.  It  was  alleged  that  the  balloon  was 
not  safe,  and  should  never  have  been  used  for  the  ascension;  and  the 
managers  of  the  Barnum  Hippodrome  were  severely  censured  for  allow- 
ing the  ascension  to  be  made.  These  allegations,  however,  were  probably 


470  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

groundless,  and  were  the  natural  outgrowth  of  a  prevalent  feeling  under 
such  circumstances  that  somebody  should  be  blamed.  The  blame,  if  any 
was  merited,  belonged  to  Professor  Donaldson  himself,  who  should  have 
been  less  daring. 

On  the  fourth  day  hope  was  very  generally  dispelled.  The  JOURNAL 
said:  "The  last  lingering  hope  to  which  the  friends  of  Donaldson  and 
Grimwood  have  clung  so  earnestly,  despite  the  stern  facts  which  almost 
forbade  hope,  has  died  away,  and  the  two  must  no^v  be  given  up  for  lost. 
For  four  days  we  have  been  listening  intently  to  every  click  of  the  tele- 
graph, anxiously  inquiring  of  every  incoming  vessel,  assiduously  hunting 
down  every  rumor,  no  matter  how  idle,  and  tenaciously  cherishing  every 
theory  of  safety  and  deliverance  to  them,  only  to  be  confronted  at  last  by 
the  sorrowful  reality,  which  now  we  fear,  must  be  acknowledged  as  such, 
that  they  met  their  death  in  the  terrific  hurricane  of  Thursday  night,  and 
are  buried  beneath  the  waters  of  the  lake.  Exactly  how  they  met  their 
doom,  it  is  impossible  that  we  should  ever  know.  How  long  and  desper- 
ately they  struggled  for  life,  how  they  cheered  each  other  so  long  as  they 
remained  together  in  the  basket  in  which  they  were  borne  on  their 
journey,  how  they  recalled  their  friends  on  the  land,  and  regretted  that 
venturesome  spirit  which  induced  them  to  take  their  lives  in  their  hands 
and  go  out  on  such  a  perilous  journey,  are  all  matters  of  the  merest  con- 
jecture. The  balloon,  caught  in  the  gale,  driven  hither  and  thither  like 
a  desperate  creature  gone  mad,  could  not  have  made  a  long  resistance. 
When  that  became  useless  to  them,  either  by  being  torn  to  pieces  or  being 
cut  loose  by  themselves,  it  left  the  two  men  engaged  in  a  fearfully  unequal 
struggle  for  life;  a  hard  and  valiant  struggle  no  doubt  it  was  against  wind 
and  wave.  They  could  hear  only  the  thunderings  of  the  storm  and  the 
screaming  and  hissings  of  the  waters;  they  saw  only  the  vivid  flashing 
of  the  lightning  and  the  foaming  heads  of  the  waves.  The  wildness  of 
such  a  scene  can  scarcely  be  imagined.  The  struggle  could  not  have 
lasted  long,  the  odds  were  too  great."  -  • 

After  this  no  reasonable  hope  of  the  safety  of  the  aeronauts  could  possi- 
bly be  cherished,  and  all  that  could  be  done  was  to  wait  patiently  until 
something  should  occur  to  indicate  the  manner  of  their  death.  Nothing 
occurred,  however,  until  the  seventeenth  of  the  following  August,  when 
the  body  of  young  Grimwood  was  found  on  the  lake  shore  near  White- 
hall, Michigan,  by  a  mail  carrier  named  Alanson  Beckwith.  When 
found  the  body  was  flat  on  its  face  on  a  pile  of  old  flood  wood.  The  hair 
was  nearly  all  worn  off  and  the  face  was  sadly  disfigured.  The  following 
notes  were  found  upon  the  body,  written  while  in  the  balloon:  "From 
the  earliest  days  of  childhood,  I  have  always  had  a  presentiment  that 
sometime,  sooner  or  later,  I  was  bound  to  rise.  There  are  some  people 
who  make  sport  of  pi'esentiments,  but  after  all  a  presentiment  is  a  handy 
thing  to  have  around.  Where  would  I  have  been  to-day  if  I  had  not 
had  a  presentiment?  In  accordance  with  my  presentiment  I  have  risen  as 
it  were  to  a  'point  of  order.'  Like  a  great  many  politicians  I  rise  by 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  471 

means  of  gas.  I  regret  the  fact  that  there  are  only  two  of  us — Professor 
Donaldson  and  myself,  as  I  would  like  to  belong  to  the  'upper  ten.' 
Professor  Donaldson  appears  to  be  a  very  pleasant  gentleman,  although 
a  philosopher  and  aeronaut.  Although  it  is  scarcely  an  hour  since  I 
struggled  into  eminence,  the  restraints  of  my  position  are  already  begin- 
ning to  be  irksome  to  me,  and  to  wear  upon  my  spirits.  I  cannot  help 
reflecting  that  if  we  fall,  we  fall  like  Lucifer,  out  of  the  heavens,  and  that 
upon  our  arrival  upon  earth,  or  rather  upon  water — for  we  are  over  the 
middle  of  Lake  Michigan — we  would  be  literally  dead." 

The  body  of  the  dead  journalist  was  brought  to  Chicago,  and  thence 
taken  to  Joliet,  Illinois,  where  his  parents  resided.  There  has  seldom 
been  so  deep  a  feeling  manifested  among  the  people  as  there  was  over 
the  loss  of  these  two  men. 

In  this  connection,  perhaps  it  would  be  interesting  to  review  the 
history  of  aerostation.  "This  art  is  founded,"  says  Crabbe,  "on  the  prin- 
ciple that  any  body  which  is  specifically  lighter  than  the  atmospheric 
air  will  be  buoyed  up  by  it  and  ascend;  a  principle  which  had  doubtless 
long  been  known,  although  the  application  of  it  to  any  practical  purpose 
is  altogether  a  modern  invention.  It  is  true  that  we  read  of  the  attempt 
which  was  made  by  Daedalus  and  his  son  Icarus  to  pass  through  the  air 
by  means  of  artificial  wings,  in  which  the  former  is  said  to  have  succeeded, 
but  this  is  commonly  reckoned  among  the  fables  of  the  ancients.  Dr. 
Black,  in  his  lectures  in  1767  and  1768,  was  the  first  who,  after  Mr.  Caven- 
dish's discovery  of  the  specific  gravity  of  inflammable  air,  threw  out  the 
suggestion  that  if  a  bladder,  sufficiently  light  and  thin,  were  filled  with 
air,  it  would  form  a  mass  lighter  than  the  same  bulk  of  atmospheric  air, 
and  rise  in  it.  But  want  of  leisure  prevented  him  from  trying  the  experi- 
ment, the  honor  of  which  belonged  to  Mr.  Cavallo,  who  communicated 
the  result  to  the  Royal  Society,  on  the  twentieth  of  June  in  that  year. 
After  having  made  several  unsuccessful  experiments  with  bladders  and 
skins,  he  succeeded  at  .length  in  making  soap  balls,  which  being  inflated 
with  inflammable  air,  by  dipping  the  end  of  a  small  glass  tube,  connected 
with  a  bladder  containing  the  air,  into  a  thick  solution  of  soap,  and  gently 
compressing  the  bladder,  ascended  rapidly.  These  were  the  first  sort  of 
inflammable  air  balloons  that  were  made.  But  while  philosophers  in 
Britain  were  thus  engaged  in  experiments  on  this  subject,  two  brothers, 
in  France,  Stephen  and  John  Montgolfier,  paper  manufacturers  of  Anno- 
nay,  had  made  rapid  advances  toward  carrying  the  project  into  execution. 
Their  idea  was  to  form  an  artificial  cloud  by  enclosing  smoke  in  a  fine 
silk  bag;  and  having  applied  burning  paper  to  an  aperture  at  the  bottom, 
the  air  thus  became  rarefied,  and  the  bag  ascended  to  the  height  of  seventy 
feet.  This  experiment  was  made  at  Avignon,  about  the  middle  of  the 
year  1782,  and  was  followed  by  other  experiments,  all  tending  to  prove 
the  practicability  of  the  scheme.  An  immense  bag  of  linen,  lined  with 
paper,  and  containing  upwards  of  twenty-three  thousand  cubic  feet,  was 
found  to  have  a  power  of  lifting  about  five  hundred  pounds,  including  its 


472  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

own  weight.  Burning  chopped  straw  and  wool  under  the  aperture  of 
the  machine  caused  it  to  swell  and  ascend  in  the  space  o£  ten  minutes 
to  the  height  of  six  thousand  feet;  when  exhausted,  it  fell  to  the  ground 
at  the  distance  of  some  thousand  feet  from  the  place  where  it  ascended. 
In  an  experiment  tried  before  the  Academy  of  Sciences,  a  large  balloon 
was  made  to  lift  eight  persons  from  the  ground,  who  would  have  been 
carried  away  had  the  machine  not  been  kept  down  with  force.  On  the 
repetition  of  the  experiment  before  the  king  at  Versailles,  with  a  balloon 
near  sixty  feet  high  and  forty-three  in  diameter,  a  sheep,  a  cock  and 
a  duck,  the  first  animals  that  ever  ascended  in  a  balloon,  were  carried  up 
about  one  thousand  four  hundred  and  forty  feet,  and  after  remaining  in 
the  air  about  eight  minutes,  came  to  the  ground  in  perfect  safety,  at  the 
distance  of  ten  thousand  two  hundred  feet  from  the  place  of  ascent. 
Emboldened  by  this  experiment,  M.  Pilatre  de  Rozier  offered  himself  to 
be  the  first  aerial  adventurer.  A  new  machine  was  accordingly  prepared, 
with  a  gallery  and  grate,  etc.,  to  enable  the  person  ascending  to  supply 
the  fire  with  fuel,  and  thus  keep  up  the  machine  as  long  as  he  pleased. 
On  the  fifteenth  of  October,  1783,  M.  Pilatre  took  his  seat  in  the  gallery, 
and,  the  machine  being  inflated,  he  rose  to  the  height  of  eighty-four  feet, 
and,  after  keeping  it.  afloat  about  lour  minutes  and  a  half,  he  gently 
descended ;  he  then  rose  again  to  the  height  of  two  hundred  and  ten  feet, 
and  the  third  time  two  hundred  and  sixty-two.  In  the  descent,  a  gust 
of  wind  having  blown  the  machine  over  some  large  trees,  M.  Pilatre 
extricated  himself  by  throwing  straw  and  wool  on  the  fire,  which  raised 
him  at  once  to  a  sufficient  height,  and  in  this  manner  he  found  himself 
able  to  ascend  or  descend  to  a  certain  height  at  pleasure.  Some  time  after, 
he  ascended  with  M.  Girond  de  Vilette  to  the  height  of  three  hundred 
and  thirty  feet,  hovering  over  Paris  at  least  nine  minutes,  in  sight  of  all 
the  inhabitants,  and  the  machine  keeping  all  the  while  a  steady  position. 
In  1783  he  undertook  a  third  aei'ial  voyage  with  the  Marquis  d'Arlandes, 
and  in  the  space  of  twenty-five  minutes  went  about  five  miles.  In  this 
voyage  they  met  with  several  different  currents  of  air,  the  effect  of  which 
was  to  give  a  very  sensible  shock  to  the  machine.  They  were  also  in 
danger  of  having  the  machine  burnt  altogether,  if  the  fire  had  not  been 
quickly  extinguished  by  means  of  a  sponge.  After  this  period  aerostatic 
machines  were  elevated  by  inflammable  air  enclosed,  instead  of  fire,  with 
which  Messrs.  Roberts  and  Charles  made  the  first  experiment.  In  this 
case  the  bag  was  composed  of  lustring,  varnished  over  with  a  solution 
of  elastic  gum,  called  caoutchouc,  and  was  about  thirteen  English  feet 
in  diameter.  After  being  filled  with  considerable  difficulty,  it  was  found 
to  be  thirty-five  pounds  lighter  than  an  equal  bulk  of  common  air.  With 
this  they  ascended,  and  in  three-quarters  of  an  hour  traversed  fifteen 
miles.  Their  sudden  descent  was  occasioned  by  a  rupture  which  happened 
to  the  machine  when  it  was  at  its  greatest  height.  On  a  subseauent  day 
the  same  gentlemen  made  an  ascent  in  a  balloon  filled  with  inflammable 
air.  This  machine  was  formed  of  gores  of  silk,  covered  with  a  varnish 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  473 

of  caoutchouc,  of  a  spherical  figure,  and  measuring  twenty-seven  feet  six 
inches  in  diameter.  A  net  was  spread  over  the  upper  hemisphere,  and 
fastened  to  a  hoop  which  passed  round  the  middle  of  the  balloon.  To 
this  a  sort  of  car  was  suspended,  a  few  feet  below  the  lower  part  of  the 
balloon;  and  in  order  to  prevent  the  bursting  of  the  machine,  a  valve  was 
placed  in  it,  by  opening  of  which  some  of  the  inflammable  air  might  be 
allowed  to  escape.  In  the  car,  which  was  of  basket-work,  and  covered 
with  linen,  the  two  adventurers  took  their  seats  in  the  afternoon  of  the 
first  of  December,  1783.  At  the  time  the  balloon  rose  the  barometer  was 
thirty  degrees  eighteen  minutes,  and  it  continued  rising  until  the  barome- 
ter fell  to  twenty-seven  degrees,  from  which  they  calculated  that  they 
had  ascended  six  hundred  yards.  By  throwing  out  ballast  occasionally 
they  found  it  practicable  to  keep  nearly  the  same  distance  from  the  earth 
during  the  rest  of  their  voyage,  the  mercury  fluctuating  between  twenty- 
seven  degrees  and  twenty-seven  degrees  sixty-five  minutes,  and  the 
thermometer  between  fifty-three  and  fifty-seven  degrees  the  whole  time. 
They  continued  in  the  air  an  hour  and  three-quarters,  and  alighted  at  the 
distance  of  twenty-seven  miles  from  Paris,  having  suffered  no  inconvenience, 
nor  experienced  any  of  the  contrary  currents  described  by  the  Marquis 
d'Arlandes.  M.  Roberts  having  alighted,  and  much  of  the  inflammable 
gas  still  remaining,  M.  Charles  determined  on  taking  another  voyage. 
No  sooner,  therefore,  was  the  balloon  thus  lightened  of  one  hundred  and 
thirty  pounds  of  its  weight,  than  it  arose  with  immense  velocity,  and  in 
twenty  minutes  was  nine  thousand  feet  above  the  earth,  and  out  of  sight 
of  all  terrestrial  objects.  The  globe,  which  had  become  flaccid,  now 
began  to  swell,  and  when  M.  Charles  drew  the  valve,  to  prevent  the 
balloon  from  bursting,  the  inflammable  gas,  which  was  much  warmer 
than  the  external  air,  for  a  time  diffused  a  warmth  around,  but  afterward, 
a  considerable  change  was  observable  in  the  temperature.  His  fingers 
were  benumbed  with  cold,  which  also  occasioned  a  pain  in  his  right  ear 
and  jaw,  but  the  beauty  of  the  prospect  compensated  for  these  incon- 
veniences. The  sun,  which  had  been  set  on  his  ascent,  became  again 
visible  for  a  short  time,  in  consequence  of  the  height  which  he  had  reached. 
He  saw  for  a  few  seconds  vapors  rising  from  the  valleys  and  rivers.  The 
clouds  seemed  to  rise  from  the  earth,  and  collect  one  upon  the  other;  only 
their  color  was  gray  and  obscure  from  the  dimness  of  the  light.  By  the 
light  of  the  moon  he  perceived  that  the  machine  was  turning  round  with 
him,  and  that  there  were  contrary  currents  which  brought  him  back 
again;  he  also  observed  with  surprise,  that  the  wind  caused  his  banners 
to  point  upward,  although  he  was  neither  rising  nor  descending,  but 
moving  "horizontally.  On  alighting  in  a  field  about  three  miles  distant 
from  the  p'ace  where  he  set  out,  he  calculated  that  he  had  ascended  at 
this  time  not  less  than  ten  thousand  five  hundred  feet.  Hitherto  all 
experiments  of  this  kind  had  been  unattended  with  anv  evil  consequences, 
but  an  attempt  which  was  made  to  put  a  small  aerostatic  machine  with 
rarefied  air  under  an  inflammable  air  balloon,  proved  fatal  to  the  adven- 


474  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

turers,  M.  Pilatre  de  Rozier  and  M.  Romaine.  Their  inflammable  air 
balloon  was  about  thirty-seven  feet  in  diameter,  and  the  power  of  the 
rarefied  air  one  was  equivalent  to  about  sixty  pounds.  They  were  not 
long  in  the  air  when  the  inflammable  air  balloon  was  seen  to  swell 
considerably,  and  the  aeronauts  were  observed,  by  means  of  telescopes, 
to  be  very  anxious  to  descend,  and  busied  in  pulling  the  valve  and  giving 
every  possible  facility  of  escape  to  the  inflammable  air,  but,  in  spite  of  all 
their  endeavors,  the  balloon  took  fire  without  any  explosion  and  the  unfor- 
tunate gentlemen  were  precipitated  to  the  earth  at  the  height  of  about 
three-quarters  of  a  mile.  M.  Pilatre  seemed  to  have  been  dead  before 
he  came  to  the  ground;  but  M.  Romaine  was  found  to  be  alive,  although 
he  expired  immediately  after.  The  ill  success  of  this  experiment,  which 
had  been  made  for  the  purpose  of  diminishing  the  expense  of  inflating 
the  machine  with  gas,  did  not  interrupt  the  progress  of  aerostation. 
Aerial  voyages  continued  to  be  made  on  the  old  scheme.  The  first  trial 
in  England  was  made  by  Vincent  Lunardi,  an  Italian,  on  the  fifteenth 
of  September,  1784.  His  balloon,  the  diameter  of  which  was  thirty-three 
feet,  was  made  of  oiled  silk,  painted  in  alternate  stripes  of  blue  and  red. 
From  a  net,  which  went  over  about  two-thirds  of  the  balloon,  descended 
forty-five  cords  to  a. hoop  hanging  below  it,  and  to  which  the  gallery  was 
attached.  Instead  of  a  valve,  the  aperture  at  the  neck  of  the  balloon, 
which  was  in  the  shape  of  a  pear,  served  for  admitting  or  letting  out  the 
inflammable  air.  The  air  for  filling  the  balloon  was  produced  from  zinc, 
by  means  of  diluted  vitriolic  acid.  M.  Lunardi  ascended  from  the  Artillery 
Ground,  at  two  o'clock,  having  with  him  a  dog,  a  cat  and  a  pigeon.  He 
was  obliged  to  throw  out  some  of  his  ballast,  in  order  to  clear  the  houses, 
when  he  rose  to  a  considerable  height,  proceeding  first  northwest  by  west 
and  then  nearly  north.  About  half  after  three  he  descended  very  near 
the  earth,  and  landed  the  cat,  which  was  half  dead  with  the  cold;  he 
then  reascended  by  throwing  out  some  more  of  his  ballast,  and  ten  min- 
utes past  four  he  alighted  in  a  meadow  near  Ware,  in  Hertfordshire.  His 
thermometer  stood  in  the  course  of  his  voyage  as  low  as  twenty-nine 
degrees,  and  he  observed  that  the  drops  of  water  collected  round  the 
balloon  wei'e  frozen.  The  second  aerial  voyage  in  England  was  per- 
formed by  Mr.  Blanchard,  on  the  sixteenth  of  October,  in  the  same  year, 
in  which  he  was  accompanied  by  Mr.  Shelden,  professor  of  anatomv  at 
the  Royal  Academy,  the  first  Englishman  that  adventured  in  such  an 
excursion.  They  ascended  a  few  minutes  past  twelve  o'clock,  and  after 
proceeding  about  fourteen  miles  beyond  Chelsea,  Mr.  Blanchard  landed 
Mr.  Shelden,  reascended  alone,  and  finally  landed  near  Rumsey,  in 
Hampshire,  about  seventy-five  .miles  from  London,  which  was  at  the  rate 
of  about  twenty  miles  an  hour.  Mr.  Blanchard  ascended  so  high,  that 
he  felt  a  difficulty  in  breathing,  and  a  pigeon,  which  flew  from  the  boat, 
labored  for  some  time  to  sustain  itself,  but  was  at  length  compelled  to 
return  and  rest  on  the  boat. 

Aerial  voyages  now  became  frequent  in  England  and  elsewhere,  and 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  475 

afforded  nothing  worthy  of  notice  before  the  ascent  of  M.  Garnerin,  in 
1802,  who  undertook  the  singular  and  desperate  experiment  of  descending 
by  means  of  a  parachute.  In  this  descent  it  was  observed  that  the  para- 
chute, with  the  appendage  of  cords  and  the  basket  in  which  M.  Garnerin 
had  seated  himself,  vibrated  like  the  pendulum  of  a  clock,  and  at  times 
the  vibrations  were  so  violent,  that  more  than  once  the  parachute  and  the 
basket  seemed  to  be  on  the  same  level,  or  quite  horizontal,  which  pre- 
sented a  terrific  spectacle  of  danger  to  the  spectator.  They  diminished, 
however,  as  M.  Garnerin  approached  the  earth,  and  he  was  landed  in 
safety,  though  strongly  affected  with  the  violent  shocks  that  his  frame 
had  experienced." 


476 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 


THE   JEWS    OF    CHICAGO. 

Rufus  Blanchard's  very  complete  and  trustworthy  history  of  Chicago, 
which  has  just  been  published,  and  which  is  a  monument  to  studious  and 
careful  research,  contains  the  following :  "The  number  of  Jews  living  at 
present  in  Chicago,  is  variously  estimated  to  be  between  fifteen  and  twenty 
thousand.  A  historian  writing  the  history  of  the  Northwest,  and  especially 
of  the  great  Western  metropolis  situated  at  the  shore  of  Lake  Michigan, 
must  of  necessity  not  neglect  to  give  an  account  also  of  the  first  Jewish 
immigration;  of  the  growth  of  the  important  Jewish  element  in  our 
midst;  of  their  temples  and  societies;  their  contributions  toward  the 
development  and  prosperity  of  Chicago,  spiritually  and  morally,  as  well 
as  materially,  and  so  forth. 

It  is  very  likely  that  some  single  Jewish  individuals  settled  in  Chicago, 
or  attempted  to  settle  here  between  1830  and  1840,  for  in  this  decade  large 
numbers  of  German  Jews  had  come  to  America,  expecting  to  find  not 
only  better  prospects  in  their  various  pursuits  of  life,  but  also  a  refuge 
from  the  oppressive  and  exclusive  laws  under  which  the  Jews  still  had  to 
suffer  at  that  time  in  the  old  Fatherland.  Here,  in  the  United  States, 
they  found  a  new  Fatherland,  granting  them  full  civil  and  political  rights 
equally  with  the  citizens  of  other  denominations;  and  these  new-comers, 
confessing  the  old  Hebrew  faith,  appreciated  this,  and  warm  and  sin- 
cere was  the  thankful  attachment  to  their  new  country. 

A  large  number,  of  course,  remained  at  first  in  the  great  cities  on 
the  Atlantic  sea  shore — in  New  York,  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore;  but 
a  considerable  number  soon  found  their  way  to  the  Valley  of  the  Ohio 
and  to  the  prairies  of  the  West. 

For  the  first  time  a  larger  number  of  Israelites  came  to  Chicago, 
or  rather,  to  be  more  exact,  to  Cook  county,  Illinois,  in  1843.  A  certain 
William  Renau,  a  young  and  enthusiastic  gentleman  of  the  Jewish 
faith,  then  living  in  New  York  city,  took  measures  for  the  establishment 
of  a  Jewish  Colonization  Society,  and  his  labor  was  not  in  vain.  A  num- 
ber of  Israelites  entered  into  his  plans  and  intentions,  and  joined  his 
society.  After  the  organization  had  been  sufficiently  consummated,  the 
society  deputed  a  Mr.  Meyer  to  go  West,  to  select  lands  for  the  members, 
upon  which  they  might  settle,  and  to  report  the  results  of  his  investiga- 
tions and  researches  to  the  society.  Mr.  Meyer  accordingly  went  West, 
and  after  looking  around  for  several  weeks  in  different  parts  of  the  coun- 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  477 

try,  he  selected  a  parcel  of  land  comprising  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres, 
situated  in  the .  town  of  Schaumburg,  Cook  county,  Illinois,  which  he 
purchased  for  himself,  and  where  he  remained.  To  the  society  in  New 
York  he  reported  by  a  written  document  which  was  very  encouraging, 
and  in  which  he  urged  the  members  to  migrate  to  this  part  of  the  coun- 
try without  hesitation,  for — so  he  said  substantially — 'this  is  a  land  in 
which  milk  and  honey  is  flowing,  particularly  for  tillers  of  the  soil;  and 
this  part  of  the  land,  and  especially  the  still  insignificant  town  of  Chicago 
opens  furthermore  a  vista  into  a  large  commercial  future.' 

Thereupon  the  majority  of  the  society  set  out  for  the  West  and  came 
to  Chicago.  They  met  here  Mr.  Meyer,  and  from  him  they  received 
more  complete  details. 

After  many  consultations,  it  was  found  that  many  disagreed  to  the 
plans  laid  out  beforehand  by  Mr.  Meyer;  the  consequence  was  that  they 
did  not  settle  together  in  a  body,  as  it  had  been  intended  from  the  begin- 
ning; but  still  determined  to  carry  out  the  plan  of  farming,  they  scattered 
in  different  directions.  Some  bought  farms  already  improved;  others 
claimed  government  lands;  still  others  settled  down  in  villages,  and  con- 
nected farming  with  mercantile  life. 

The  majority  of  these  men,  by  their  industry  and  their  frugal  and 
economical  habits,  succeeded  in  becoming  pretty  well  to  do. 

After  the  Illinois  and  Michigan  Canal  and  the/ailroad  from  Chicago 
to  Elgin  had  been  completed,  Chicago  became  quite  a  center  of  attraction 
for  people  inclined  to  trade,  and  Jewish  families  in  comparatively  large 
numbers,  came  to  make  it  their  home.  Two  Jewish  families  had  been 
residing  here  in  the  city  somewhat  previous  to  this  time,  and  one  of  them, 
Benedict  Schubert,  had  become  quite  wealthy.  It  was  he  who  had 
built  the  first  brick  house  in  Chicago.  He  had  been  a  tailor  by  trade, 
and  was  very  poor  when  he  came  to  live  in  that  town.  But  by  his  industry 
and  the  industry  of  his  wife,  he  soon  acquired  sufficient  means,  and  he 
became,  in  his  day,  the  only  prominent  merchant  tailor  in  Chicago. 

Mr.  Meyer,  spoken  of  before,  after  having  become  advanced  in  years, 
and  being  without  grown  children  old  enough  to  be  of  any  help  to  him, 
was  among  those  who  came  to  the  city  to  live.  He  had  sold  his 
farm,  and  invested  all  his  funds  in  Chicago  real  estate.  As  a  far-seeing 
man  of  sound  judgment  in  such  matters,  he  advised  all  his  friends  and 
acquaintances  to  act  similarly ;  at,  least,  he  desired  that  they  should  do  so 
with  a  part  of  their  means.  By  many  he  was  looked  upon  as  an  eccentric. 
However,  the  result  proved  that  he  was  right.  Though  his  investments 
brought  no  immediate  fruits  to  himself,  yet  to  those  who  came  after  him 
and  took  his  advice,  it  was  a  rich  mine  of  wealth. 

Chicago  had  meanwhile  become  widely  known,  especially  since  it 
was  rumored  that  it  would  be  a  great  railroad  center,  and  thereby  many 
Israelites  were  induced  to  select  this  place  as  their  home.  Among  the  first 
ones  who  about  that  time  came  to  Chicago,  we  mention  the  brothers  Kohn, 
L.  Rosenfeld,  Jacob  Rosenberg,  the  brothers  Rubel,  the  brothers  Greene- 


478  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

baum,  Samuel  Cole,  Mayer  Klein,  M.  M.  Gerstley,  Fuller,  Weineman, 
Brunneman,  Clayburgh,  Weigselbaum,  Zeigler,  etc.  Since  Chicago  has 
had  enterprising  and  energetic  citizens  of  the  Jewish  persuasion  in  almost 
all  branches  of  mercantile  and  industrial  life,  and  since  several  years  there 
reside  here,  also,  a  considerable  number  of  Israelites  belonging  to  the 
learned  professions — lawyers,  physicians  and  others — who  have  justly 
acquired  the  esteem  of  their  fellow  citizens,  and  who  contributed  their 
share  toward  the  general  prosperity  and  the  general  good  standing  of 
the  city. 

We  would,  indeed,  have  to  occupy  a  large  space  were  we  to  enumer- 
ate all  the  Jewish  houses  engaged  in  the  various  branches  of  business, 
even  if  we  should  restrict  ourselves  to  wholesale  business.  Commerce 
in  dry  goods,  clothing,  hardware,  boots  and  shoes,  tobacco,  in  short,  in 
every  imaginable  branch,  is  largely  shared  by  Jewish  houses.  So  are 
many  banking  institutions  owned  and  successfully  conducted  by  Jewish 
firms.  So  is  the  manufacturing  of  clothing,  cutlery,  chemical  prepara- 
tions, cigars,  furniture;  so  are  printing  and  lithographic  institutions,  book- 
binderies,  tanneries,  beef  packing  houses,  etc.,  conducted  by  Jewish 
owners  and  energetic  Jewish  minds  and  hands. 

But  it  is  time  that  we  come  now  to  speak  of  the  religious  organiza- 
tions of  the  Jews  of  Chicago.  For  the  first  time  the  Chicago  Jews 
entered  into  such  a  religious  organization  in  1845,  an<^  ^ie  ^rs^  public  act 
by  which  they  demonstrated  their  existence  as  a  body  corporate,  was  the 
purchase  from  the  city  of  a  piece  of  ground  for  a  cemetery.  This  old 
Jewish  cemetery  had  to  be  given  up  as  such  in  1856,  the  city  having 
become  meanwhile  so  extended  that  this  cemetery  was  within  the  city 
limits.  At  present  the  same  forms  a  part  of  the  Lincoln  Park.  Not  long 
after  this  cemetery  had  been  acquired,  the  association  who  owned  it 
organized  into  a  regular  congregation.  This  was  the  first  Jewish  congre- 
gation in  Chicago  and  very  likely  of  the  whole  Northwest.  It  was 
chartered  in  1848  under  the  name  'Kehillath  Anshey  Maarab' — Congrega- 
tion of  the  Men  of  the  West.  Its  first  services  were  held  in  a  hall  situated 
in  the  uppermost  floor  of  an  old  frame  building  on  the  southwest  corner 
of  Lake  and  Wells  streets,  and  Ignatz  Kunreuther  was  the  first  minister  of 
this  congregation.  After  the  congregation  had  become  strong  enough, 
financially,  they  leased  a  lot  on  Clark  street,  between  Quincy  and  Jackson 
streets,  upon  which  they  erected  a  synagogue.  At  the  expiration  of  that 
lease  they  bought  a  lot  on  the  northeast  corner  of  Adams  and  Wells  streets, 
where  they  built  another  synagogue.  Here  they  remained  for  several 
years,  until  the  house  became  too  small  for  the  congregation.  Thev  then 
sold  this  property,  and  bought  a  church  on  the  corner  of  Peck  Court  and 
W abash  avenue,  where  they  remained  until  the  building  was  destroyed 
by  the  great  fire  of  1871.  Afterward  they  purchased  a  church  on  the 
corner  of  Twenty-sixth  street  and  Indiana  avenue,  and  there  the  congre- 
gation Anshey  Maarab  still  worship. 

After  Reverend  Mr.   Kunreuther  above  mentioned,  the  following 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  479 

gentlemen  officiated  successively  as  ministers  of  this  congregation:  G. 
Snydacker,  G.  M.  Cohen,  L.  Lebrecht,  L.  Levi,  M.  Mensor,  M.  Moses 
and  L.  Adler.  The  last  named  Rabbi,  who  was  called  here  in  1861.  is 
still  occupying  the  position  of  the  spiritual  guide  of  the  congregation, 
and  labors  within  his  field  with  great  success,  as  a  true  teacher  of  religion 
and  of  Judaism. 

Not  exactly  a  congregation,  but  a  society  of  a  semi-religious  charac- 
ter was  also  instituted  at  an  early  date  by  a  number  of  younger  Israelites 
in  Chicago,  under  the  name  of  'Hebrew  Benevolent  Society.'  In  its 
flourishing  days  it  did  a  great  deal  of  good  in  the  field  of  chanty.  It 
purchased  also  three  acres  of  ground  in  the  town  of  Lake  View,  a  little 
south  of  Graceland,  and  laid  it  out  for  a  cemetery. 

Later  other  charitable  societies  came  into  existence,  by  which  the 
old  Hebrew  Benevolent  Society  became  superseded.  Nominally,  how- 
ever, it  still  exists,  but  merely  as  a  burial  ground  association. 

A  second  Hebrew  congregation  was  established  in  1851  by  a  number 
of  Israelites,  mainly  from  the  Eastern  provinces  of  Prussia,  and  to  which 
the  founders  gave  the  name  'Kehillath  B'nay  Shalom' — Congregation  of 
the  Sons  of  Peace.  This  congregation  rented  first  a  hall  in  a  building 
on  the  southwest  corner  of  Dearborn  and  Washington  streets;  afterward 
they  occupied  a  hall  in  a  building  on  Clark  street,  near  Jackson  street, 
and  in  1864  they  dedicated  their  new  synagogue  on  Harrison  street,  near 
Fourth  avenue.  This  structure,  in  its  time  the  most  beautiful  of  all  the 
Chicago  synagogues,  fell  a  prey  to  the  great  conflagration  of  1871.  Since 
then  the  congregation,  which  had  greatly  suffered  by  the  fire,  rallied 
again  and  erected  a  new  house  of  worship  on  Michigan  avenue,  between 
Fourteenth  and  Sixteenth  streets.  Among  the  Rabbis  who  officiated  in 
this  congregation,  we  mention  A.  J.  Messing,  M.  Spitz  and  H.  Gersoni. 

The  third  Jewish  congregation  which  was  founded  in  Chicago,  is 
'Sinai  Congregation.'  Its  first  meeting  for  devotional  purposes  was  held 
June,  1851,  in  a  temple  situated  on  Monroe  street,  near  LaSalle  street, 
and  in  which  the  congregation  continued  to  worship  until  April,  1865,  at 
which  time  they  consecrated  their  new  temple  on  the  northwest  corner 
of  VanBuren  street  and  Third  avenue.  By  the  fire  of  1871  this  temple 
was  laid  in  ashes.  The  congregation  was  then  without  a  meeting  house 
of  their  own  for  several  years.  But  in  April,  1875,  they  dedicated  their 
new  temple  on  the  southwest  corner  of  Twenty-first  street  and  Indiana 
avenue — an  imposing  structure  they  still  occupy. 

The  Rabbis  who  officiated  successively  in  this  congregation  were 
Dr.  B.  Felsenthal,  in  1861-64;  Dr.  I.  Chronik,  in  1866-71;  from  1864  to 
1865  the  office  was  vacant;  Dr.  K.  Kohler,  in  1871-79;  the  present 
incumbent,  Dr.  E.  G.  Hirsch,  since  September,  1880. 

Another  congregation,  the  fourth  one  in  chronological  order,  was 
established  by  Israelites  residing  in  the  West  Division,  in  1864.  It  was  char- 
tered under  the  name  Zion  Congregation.  Its  first  divine  service  was 
held  in  September,  1864,  and  the  first  temple  it  occupied  was  situated  on 


480  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

Desplaines  street,  between  Washington  and  Madison  streets.  The  build- 
ing had  originally  been  a  Baptist  church,  and  had  been  sold  to  the  young 
Jewish  congregation.  In  1869  the  congregation  disposed  of  their  temple 
which  they  then  possessed,  and  erected  a  new  structure  in  a  more  suitable 
location,  to  wit,  on  the  southeast  corner  of  Jackson  and  Sangamon  streets. 
Dr.  Felsenthal  was  invited  to  fill  the  Rabbi's  chair  in  this  congregation 
as  soon  as  it  had  organized — in  1864 — and  he  still  occupies  the  office. 

In  1867  'The  North  Side  Hebrew  Congregation,'  now  worshiping 
in  a  rented  locality  on  Dearborn  avenue,  east  of  Washington  Park,  was 
established.  Previous  to  the  great  fire,  this  congregation  had  a  temple 
on  Ohio  street,  near  Wells  street,  but  the  fire  destroyed  it.  A.  Nordon, 
who  was  the  first  minister  of  this  congregation,  but  who  became  deprived 
of  his  situation  in  consequence  of  the  conflagration,  wras  elected  some 
years  ago  by  his  congregation  as  their  Rabbi,  and  is  still  officiating  as  such. 

During  the  last  ten  years  a  number  of  other  Jewish  congregations 
have  been  built,  and  at  present  Chicago  numbers  thirteen  chartered  Jew- 
ish congregations. 

Coming  now  to  charitable  Jewish  societies,  it  deserves  to  be  men- 
tioned that  quite  a  number  of  them  were  in  existence  already  in  earlier 
years.  In  1859  the  United  Hebrew  Relief  Association  was  founded, 
a  society  still  existing,  and  affording  aid  and  assistance  to  destitute,  sick 
and  otherwise  suffering  persons,  to  widows  and  orphans,  and  so  forth,  and 
thereby  doing  a  great  deal  of  philanthropic  work.  Also  many  other 
charitable  societies  exist,  yet  this  United  Hebrew  Relief  Association  has 
maintained  its  place  among  the  Chicago  Israelites  as  the  most  favored 
society  of  its  class,  and  by  the  liberality  of  the  Jewish  inhabitants  of  this 
place,  it  is  enabled  to  spend  annually  considerable  amounts  of  money  for 
its  noble  purposes.  In  fact,  most  of  the  other  benevolent  societies  regard 
themselves,  in  a  certain  sense  of  the  word,  as  but  branches  or  component 
societies  of  this  institution. 

Its  first  president  was  Henry  Greenebaum;  at  present  Isaac  Greens- 
felder  presides  over  it.  For  several  years  past  F.  Kiss  acts  as  superin- 
tendent, and  is  daily  on  duty  in  behalf  of  this  association. 

A  hospital  had  been  erected  under  the  auspices  of  the  United  Hebrew 
Relief  Association  in  the  year  1868,  and  was  conducted  on  most  liberal 
principles.  It  was  situated  on  LaSalle  street,  near  Schiller  street.  But 
this  hospital,  too,  fell  a  prey  to  the  fire  on  October  9th,  1871.  At  present 
a  new  Jewish  hospital  is  being  built  on  the  lake  shore,  foot  of  Twenty- 
ninth  street.  The  United  Hebrew  Relief  Association  has  mainly  been 
enabled  to  undertake  the  rebuilding  of  the  hospital  by  the  munificence 
of  the  late  M.  Reese,  of  San  Francisco,  California,  who  in  his  last  will 
bequeathed  to  the  society  the  amount  of  fifty  thousand  dollars,  to  be 
devoted  toward  the  erection  of  such  a  hospital. 

Among  this  class  of  charitable  societies,  may  also  be  counted  a  num- 
ber of  lodges  of  various  Jewish  orders.  After  the  pattern  of  the  Free 
Masons,  Odd  Fellows  and  similar  orders,  there  were  some  Jewish  orders 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  '.jSi 

formed  in  the  United  States,  as  for  instance  the  Independent  Order  of 
B'nay  Brith — Sons  of  the  Covenant — the  Independent  Order  of  the  Free 
Sons  of  Israel,  the  Kesher  Shel  Barrel — Iron  League — all  of  which  have 
philanthropic  ends  in  view.  All  of  these  orders  are  represented  in  Chi- 
cago by  a  number  of  lodges. 

We  must  not  omit  to  mention  here  that  several  Jewish  societies  for 
literary  purposes,  debating  clubs  and  the  like,  and  for  amusement,  have 
at  various  times  been  established  here.  Of  some  prominence,  in  their 
time,  were  the  Concordia  Club  and  Harmonia  Club,  not  in  existence;  the 
Standard  Club,  still  existing  and  flourishing;  the  Zion  Literary  Society, 
also  still  prospering,  and  others. 

It  remains  to  be  mentioned  that  in  several  other  cities  in  the  North- 
west Jews  have  settled  in  more  or  less  great  numbers,  and  have  formed 
congregations  and  other  societies.  So  are  fine  prosperous  Jewish  congre- 
gations to  be  found  in  Milwaukee,  St.  Paul,  Springfield,  Quincy,  Peoria, 
and  there  is  hardly  any  village  where  not  a  few  Israelites  may  be  found, 
though  their  number  may  be  too  small  to  organize  and  to  maintain  a 
regular  congregation. 

A  grand  institution  toward  which  the  Jews  of  the  Northwest  all 
contribute,  and  which  belongs  to  them  in  common,  is  the  Jewish  Orphan 
Asylum,  in  Cleveland.  It  is  said  to  be  one  of  the  largest,  best  conducted, 
and  best  endowed  institution  of  its  kind  in  the  United  States." 


4S' 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 


CENTENNIAL    TRIBUTE    TO    CHICAGO. 

In  an  oration  delivered  at  the  Centennial  Exposition  at  Philadelphia, 
August  29th,  1876,  Charles  H.  Fowler,  D.  D.,  L.  L.  D.,  after  eloquently 
describing  the  resources  and  record  of  Illinois,  made  the  following  histor- 
ical and  prophetic  reference  to  Chicago: 

"Spur  your  horse  for  a  half  day  up  the  base  of  'The  Cap  of  Liberty,' 
in  the  Yosemite  Valley;  stop  at  noon,  worn  and  weary,  on  the  borders 
where  vegetation  ceases;  stretch  your  arms  up  toward  the  bold,  far-away 
summit,  and  then  you  will  feel  the  impossibility  of  compassing  that  bold 
old  peak  in  one  thought.  In  like  manner  set  your  thought  upon  the 
subject  before  us-r— this  mysterious,  majestic,  might}*  city,  born  first  of 
water,  and  next  of  fire;  sown  in  weakness,  and  raised  in  power;  planted 
among  the  willows  of  the  marsh,  and  crowned  with  the  glory,  of  the 
mountains;  sleeping  on  the  bosom  of  the  prairie,  and  rocked  on  the  bosom 
of  the  sea;  the  youngest  city  of  the  world,  and  still  the  eye  of  the  prairie, 
as  Damascus,  the  oldest  city  of  the  world,  is  the  eye  of  the  desert.  With 
a  commerce  far  exceeding  that  of  Corinth  on  her  isthmus,  in  the  highway 
to  the  East;  with  the  defenses  of  a  continent  piled  around  her  by  the 
thousand  miles,  making  her  far  safer  than  Rome  on  the  banks  of  the  Tiber; 
with  schools  eclipsing  Alexandria  and  Athens;  with  liberties  more  con- 
spicuous than  those  of  the  old  republics;  with  a  heroism  equal  to  the  first 
Carthage,  and  with  a  sanctity  scarcely  second  to  that  of  Jerusalem — set 
your  thoughts  on  all  this,  lifted  into  the  eyes  of  all  men  by  the  miracle 
of  its  growth,  illuminated  by  the  flame  of  its  fall,  and  transfigured  by  the 
divinity  of  its  resurrection,  and  you  will  feel,  as  I  do,  the  utter  impossi- 
bility of  compassing  this  subject  as  it  deserves.  Some  impression  of  her 
importance  is  received  from  the  shock  her  burning  gave  to  the  civilized 
world. 

When  the  doubt  of  her  calamity  was  removed,  and  the  horrid  fact 
was  accepted,  there  went  a  shudder  over  all  cities,  and  a  quiver  over  all 
lands.  There  was  scarcely  a  town  in  the  civilized  world  that  did  not 
shake  on  the  brink  of  this  opening  chasm.  The  flames  of  our  homes 
reddened  all  skies.  The  city  was  set  upon  a  hill,  and  could  not  be  hid. 
All  eyes  were  turned  upon  it.  To  have  struggled  and  suffered  amid  the 
scenes  of  its  fall  is  as  .distinguishing  as  to  have  fought  at  Thermopylae,  or 
Salamis,  or  Hastings,  or  Waterloo,  or  Bunker  Hill.  Its  calamity  amazed 
the  world,  because  it  was  felt  to  be  the  common  property  of  mankind. 


. 
CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  483 

The  early  history  of  the  city  is  full  of  interest,  just  as  the  early  his- 
tory of  such  a  man  as  Washington  or  Lincoln  becomes  public  property, 
and  is  cherished  by  every  patriot. 

Starting  with  five  hundred  acres  in  1833,  it  embraced  and  occupied 
twenty-three  thousand  acres  in  1869,  and,  having  now  a  population  of  more 
than  five  hundred  thousand,  it  commands  general  attention. 

Colbert,  of  the  Chicago  TRIBUNE,  so  highly  honored  by,  and  so 
honoring,  our  daily  press — that  strange  compound  of  music  and  mathe- 
matics, of  the  sciences  of  the  books  and  the  items  of  a  daily  newspaper — 
develops  the  fact  that  the  first  white  man  that  ever  settled  in  Chicago 
was  a  negro.  He  opened  trade  with  the  Indians  in  1796,  and  consecrated 
this  soil  to  the  Fifteenth  Amendment.  But  more  than  a  hundred  years 
before  that,  Father  Marquette  spent  some  months  here,  on  his  way  from 
the  North  to  the  Mississippi,  and,  laboring  as  a  missionary  among  the 
Indians,  consecrated  this  soil  to  Christianity.  Old  Fort  Dearborn  with 
its  wall  of  piles,  sharpened  at  the  top,  and  its  concealed  dugway  to  the 
river,  and  its  officers'  mansion  of  logs,  was  planted  in  1812.  The  first 
house  was  built  by  J.  H.  Kinzie,  in  1815.  A  mere  trading-post  was  kept 
here  from  that  time  till  about  the  time  o*f  the  Black  Hawk  war  in  1832. 
It  was  not  the  city.  It  was  merely  a  cock  crowing  at  midnight.  The 
morning  was  not  yet.  In  1833  the  settlement  about  the  fort  was 
incorporated  as  a  town.  The  voters  were  divided  on  the  propriety  of 
such  incorporation,  twelve  voting  for  it  and  one  against  it.  Four  years 
later  it  was  incorporated  as  a  city,  and  embraced  five  hundred  and  sixty 
acres. 

The  produce  handled  in  this  city  is  an  indication  of  its  power.  Grain 
and  flour  were  imported  from  the  East  till  as  late  as  1837.  The  first 
exportation  by  way  of  experiment  was  in  1839.  Exports  exceeded  im- 
ports first  in  1842.  The  Board  of  Trade  was  organized  in  1848,  but  it 
was  so  weak  that  it  needed  nursing  till  1855.  Grain  was  purchased  by 
the  wagon  load  in  the  street. 

I  remember  sitting  with  my  father  on  a  load  of  wheat,  in  the  long 
line  of  wagons  along  Lake  street,  while  the  buyers  came  and  untied  the 
bags,  and  examined  the  grain,  and  made  their  bids.  That  manner  of 
business  had  to  cease  with  the  day  of  small  things.  Now  our  elevators 
will  hold  fifteen  million  bushels  of  grain.  The  cash  value  of  the  produce 
handled  in  a  year  is  two  hundred  and  fifteen  million  dollars,  and  the  pro- 
duce weighs  seven  million  tons  or  seven  hundred  thousand  car  loads. 
This  handles  thirteen  and  a  half  tons  each  minute,  all  the  year  round. 
One-tenth  of  all  the  wheat  in  the  United  States  is  handled  in  Chicago. 
Even  as  long  ago  as  1853  the  receipts  of  grain  in  Chicago  exceeded  those 
of  the  goodly  city  of  St.  Louis,  and  in  1854  the  exports  of  grain  from 
Chicago  exceeded  those  of  New  York,  and  doubled  those  of  St.  Peters- 
burg, Archangel,  or  Odessa,  the  largest  grain  markets  in  Europe. 

The  manufacturing  interests   of  the   city   are  not  contemptible.     In 
1873   manufactories  employed   forty-five   thousand   operatives;    in   1876, 


484  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

sixty  thousand.  The  manufactured  product  in  1875  was  worth  one  hun- 
dred and  seventy-seven  million  dollars. 

No  estimate  of  the  size  and  power  of  Chicago  would  be  adequate 
that  did  not  put  large  emphasis  on  the  railroads.  Before  they  came 
thundering  along  our  streets,  canals  were  the  hope  of  our  country.  But 
who  ever  thinks  now  of  traveling  by  canal  packets?  In-June,  1852,  there 
were  only  forty  miles  of  railroad  connected  with  the  city.  The  old 
Galena  division  of  the  Northwestern  ran  out  to  Elgin.  But  now,  who 
can  count  the  trains  and  measure  the  roads  that  seek  a  terminus  or  con- 
nection in  this  city  ?  Thfe  lake  stretches  away  to  the  north,  gathering  in- 
to this  center  all  the  harvests  that  might  otherwise  pass  to  the  north  of  us, 
If  you  will  take  a  map  and  look  at  the  adjustment  of  railroads,  you  will 
see,  first,  that  Chicago  is  the  great  railroad  city  of  the  world,  as  New 
York  is  the  commercial  city  of  this  continent,  and,  second,  that  the  rail- 
road lines  form  the  iron  spokes  of  a  great  wheel  whose  hub  is  this  city. 
The  lake  furnishes  the  only  break  in  the  spokes,  and  this  seems  simply  to 
have  pushed  a  few  spokes  together  on  each  shore.  All  these  roads  have 
come  themselves  by  the  infallible  instincts  of  capital.  Not  a  dollar  was 
ever  given  by  the  city  to  secure  one  of  them,  and  only  a  small  per  cent. 
of  stock  taken  originally  by  her  citizens,  and  that  taken  simply  as  an 
investment.  Coming  in  the  natural  order  of  events,  they  will  not  be  easily 
diverted. 

There  is  still  another  showing  to  all  this.  The  connection  between 
New  York  and»San  Francisco  is  by  the  middle  route.  This  passes 
inevitably  through  Chicago.  St.  Louis  wants  the  Southern  Pacific  or 
Kansas  Pacific,  and  pushes  it  out  through  Denver,  and  so  on  to  Cheyenne. 
But  before  the  road  is  fairly  under  way,  the  Chicago  road  shoves  out  to 
Kansas  City,  making  even  the  Kansas  Pacific  a  feeder,  and  actually  leav- 
ing St.  Louis  out  in  the  cold.  It  is  not  too  much  to  expect  that  Dakota, 
Montana  and  Washington  Territory  will  find  their  great  market  in  Chi- 
cago. « 

But  these  are  not  all.  Perhaps  I  had  better  notice  here  the  ten  or 
fifteen  new  roads  that  have  just  entered,  or  are  just  entering,  our  city. 
Their  names  are  all  that  is  necessary  to  give.  Chicago  and  St.  Paul, 
looking  up  the  Red  River  country  to  the  British  possessions;  the  Chicago, 
Atlantic  and  Pacific;  the  Chicago,  Decatur  and  State  Line;  the  Baltimore 
and  Ohio;  the  Chicago,  Danville  and  Vincennes;  the  Chicago  and  LaSalle 
railroad;  the  Chicago,  Pittsburg  and  Cincinnati;  the  Chicago  and  Can- 
ada Southern;  the  Chicago  and  Illinois  River  railroad.  These,  with 
their  connections,  and  with  the  new  connections  of  the  old  roads  already 
in  process  of  erection,  give  to  Chicago  not  less  than  ten  thousand  miles 
of  new  tributaries  from  the  richest  land  on  the  continent.  Thus  there 
will  be  added  to  the  reserve  power,  to  the  capital  within  the  reach  of  this 
city,  not  less  than  one  billion  dollars. 

Add  to  all  this  transporting  power  the  ships,  that  sail  one  every  nine 
minutes  of  the  business  hours  of  the  season  of  navigation;  add,  also,  the 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  485 

canal  boats,  that  leave  one  every  minute  during  the  same  time,  and  you 
will  see  something  of  the  business  of  the  city. 

The  commerce  bf  this  city  has  been  leaping  along  to  keep  pace  with 
the  growth  of  the  country  around  us.  In  1852  our  commerce  reached 
the  hopeful  sum  of  twenty  million  dollars.  In  1870  it  reached  four  hun- 
dred million  dollars.  In  1871  it  was  pushing  up  above  four  hundred  and 
fifty  million  dollars.  And  in  1875  it  touched  nearly  double  that. 

One  half  of  our  imported  goods  come  directly  to  Chicago.  Grain 
enough  is  exported  directly  from  our  docks  to  the  Old  World  to  employ 
a  semi-weekly  line  of  steamers  of  three  thousand  tons  capacity.  This 
branch  is  not  likely  to  be  greatly  developed.  Even  after  the  great  Wei- 
land  Canal  is  completed,  we  shall  have  only  fourteen  feet  of  water.  The 
great  ocean  vessels  will  continue  to  control  the  trade. 

The  banking  capital  of  Chicago  is  twenty-four  million,  four  hundred 
and  thirty-one  thousand  dollars.  Total  exchange  in  1875,  six  hundred  and 
fifty-nine  million  dollars.  Her  wholesale  business  in  1875  was  two  hun- 
dred and  ninety-four  million  dollars.  The  rate  of  taxes  is  less  than  in 
any  other  great  city. 

The  schools  of  Chicago  are  unsurpassed  in  America.  Out  of  a 
population  of  three  hundred  thousand  there  were  only  one  hundred  and 
eighty-six  persons  between  the  ages  of  six  and  twenty-one  unable  to  read. 
This  is  the  best  known  record. 

In  1831  the  mail  system  was  condensed  into  a  half-breed,  who  went 
on  foot  to  Niles,  Michigan,  once  in  two  weeks,  and  brought  back  what 
papers  and  news  he  could  find.  As  late  as  1848  there  was  often  only  one 
mail  a  week.  A  postoffice  was  established  in  Chicago  in  1833,  an(^  the 
postmaster  nailed  up  old  boot-legs  on  one  side  of  his  shop  to  serve  as 
boxes  for  the  nabobs  and  literary  men. 

It  is  an  interesting  fact  in  the  growth  of  the  young  city  that  in  the 
active  life  of  the  business  men  of  that  day  the  mail  matter  has  grown  to 
a  daily  average  of  over  six  thousand  five  hundred  pounds.  It  speaks  equally 
well  for  the  intelligence  of  the  people  and  the  commercial  importance  of 
the  place,  that  the  mail  matter  distributed  to  the  territory  immediately 
tributary  to  Chicago,  is  seven  times  greater  than  that  distributed  to  the 
territory  immediately  tributary  to  St.  Louis.  The  improvements  that 
have  characterized  the  city  are  as  startling  as  the  city  itself. 

In  1831,  Mark  Beaubien  established  a  ferry  over  the  river,  and  put 
himself  under  bonds  to  carry  all  the  citizens  free  for  the  privilege  of 
charging  strangers.  Now  there  are  twenty-four  large  bridges  and  two 
tunnels. 

In  1833  the  government  expended  thirty  thousand  dollars  on  the 
harbor.  Then  commenced  that  series  of  manoeuvers  with  the  river  that 
has  made  it  one  of  the  world's  curiosities.  It  used  to  wind  around  in  the 
lower  end  of  the  town,  and  make  its  way  rippling  over  the  sand  into 
the  lake  at  the  foot  of  Madison  street.  They  took  it  up  and  put  it  down 
where  it  now  is.  It  was  a  narrow  stream,  so  narrow  that  even  a  moder- 


486  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHECE  CITIZENS. 

ately  small  craft  had  to  go  up  through  the  willows  and  cat  tails  to  the 
point  near  Lake  street  bridge,  and  back  up  one  of  the  branches  to  get 
room  enough  in  which  to  turn  round. 

In  1844  the  quagmires  in  the  streets  were  first  pontooned  by  plank 
roads,  which  acted  in  wet  weather  as  public  squirt-guns.  Keeping  you 
out  of  the  mud,  they  compromised  by  squirting  the  mud  over  you.  The 
wooden  block  pavements  came  to  Chicago  in  1857.  In  1840  water  was 
delivered  by  peddlers  in  carts,  or  by  hand.  Then  a  twenty-five  horse 
power  engine  pushed  it  through  hollow  or  bored  logs  along  the  streets 
until  1854,  when  it  was  introduced  into  the  houses  by  new  work.  The 
first  fire  engine  was  used  in  1835,  an(*  tne  first  steam  fire  engine  in  1859, 
Gas  was  utilized  for  lighting  the  city  in  1850.  The  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Association  was  organized  in  1858,  and  horse  railroads  carried  them 
to  their  work  in  1859.  The  museum  was  opened  in  1863.  The  alarm 
telegraph  was  adopted  in  1864.  The  Opera  House  built  in  1865.  The 
city  grew  from  five  hundred  and  sixty  acres  in  1833  to  twenty-three 
thousand  in  1869.  In  1834  the  taxes  amounted  to  forty-eight  dollars  and 
ninety  cents,  and  the  trustees  of  the  town  borrowed  sixty  dollars  more 
for  opening  and  improving  streets.  In  1835  ^ie  legislature  authorized 
a  loan  of  two  thousand  dollars,  and  the  treasurer  and  street  commissioners 
resigned  rather  than  plunge  the  town  into  such  a  gulf. 

Now  the  city  embraces  thirty-six  square  miles  of  territory,  and  has 
thirty  miles  of  water  front,  besides  the  outside  harbor  of  refuge,  of  four 
hundred  acres,  enclosed  by  a  crib  sea-wall.  One  third  of  the  city  has 
been  raised  up  an  average  of  eight  feet,  giving  good  pitch  to  the  two 
hundred  and  three  miles  of  sewerage.  The  water  of  the  city  is  above 
all  competition.  It  is  received  through  two  tunnels  extending  to  a  crib 
in  the  lake  two  miles  from  shore.  The  closest  analysis  fails  to  detect  any 
impurities,  a  nd  received  thirty -five  feet  below  the  surface,  is  always  clear 
and  cold.  The  first  tunnel  was  five  feet  two  inches  in  diameter  and  two 
miles  long,  and  can  deliver  fifty  million  of  gallons  per  day.  The  second 
tunnel  is  seven  feet  in  diameter,  and  six  miles  long,  running  four  miles 
under  the  city,  and  can  deliver  one  hundred  million  of  gallons  per  dav. 
This  water  is  distributed  through  four  hundred  and  ten  miles  of  water 
mains. 

The  three  grand  engineering  exploits  of  the  city  are:  First,  lifting 
the  city  up  on  jack-screws,  whole  squares  at  a  time,  without  interrupting 
the  business,  thus  giving  us  good  drainage ;  second,  running  the  tunnels 
under  the  lake,  giving  us  the  best  water  in  the  world;  and,  third,  the 
turning  of  the  current  of  the  river  in  its  own  channel,  delivering  us  from 
the  old  abominations,  and  making  decency  possible.  They  redounded 
about  equally  to  the  credit  of  the  engineering,  to  the  energy  of  the  people, 
and  to  the  health  of  the  city. 

That  which  really  constitutes  the  city,  its  indescribable  spirit,  its  soul, 
the  way  it  lights  up  in  every  feature  in  the  hour  of  action,  has  not  been 
touched.  In  meeting  strangers,  one  is  often  surprised  how  some  homely 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  487 

women  marry  so  well.  Their  forms  are  bad,  their  gait  uneven  and 
awkward,  their  complexion  is  dull,  their  features  misshapen  and  mis- 
matched, and  when  we  see  them  there  is  no  beauty  that  we  should  desire 
them.  But  once  they  are  aroused  on  some  subject,  they  put  on  new  pro- 
portions. They  light  up  into  great  power.  The  real  person  comes  out 
from  its  unseemly  ambush,  and  captures  us  at  will.  They  have  power. 
They  have  ability  to  cause  things  to  come  to  pass.  We  no  longer  wonder 
why  they  are  in  such  high  demand.  So  it  is  with  our  city.  To  the 
stranger  it  seems  flat,  and  cheap,  wooden.  There  is  plenty  of  wind,  and 
no  lack  of  dust,  and  a  full  supply  of  mud.  There  is  no  grand  scenery 
except  the  two  seas,  one  of  water,  the  other  of  prairie.  Nevertheless, 
there  is  a  spirit  about  it,  a  push,  a  breath,  a  power,  that  soon  makes  it  a 
place  never  to  be  forsaken.  One  soon  ceases  to  believe  in  impossibilities. 
Balaams  are  the  only  prophets  that  are  disappointed.  The  bottom  that 
has  been  in  the  point  of  falling  out  has  been  there  so  long  that  it  has 
grown  fast.  It  cannot  fall  out.  It  has  all  the  capital  of  the  world  itching 
to  get  inside  the  corporation.  As  when  you  kill  a  Chicago  rat  a  hundred 
more  will  come  to  the  funeral,  so  when  one  man  falls  or  is  crushed,  a 
hundred  large  ones  leap  for  his  place. 

When  we  turn  our  gaze  toward  the  futiu-e — and  turn  it  we  must,  for 
we  are  all  prophets,  and  the  sons  of  prophets — from  questioning  that 
which  is  to  come,  we  are  startled  with  the  developments  that  are  insured 
by  the  inevitable  march  of  events. 

May  I  tell  you  what  I  see,  and  be  allowed  to  depart  in  peace?  I  must 
tell  you.  This  is  the  purpose  for  which  I  am  here.  In  the  language  of 
an  old  hero,  I  say,  'Strike,  but  hear!' 

I  see  Chicago  in  the  future  as  the  greatest  city  in  the  world.  It  is  in 
league  with  events,  and  must  grow  to  this  measure.  It  is  inland,  protected 
from  all  foreign  foes.  It  is  on  the  productive  belt  of  the  temperate  zone, 
where  thrive  all  the  aggressive  civilizations.  It  is  near  the  center  of  the 
continent,  and  the  center  of  the  great  valley  that  could  support  a  thousand 
million  people;  and  it  commands  more  territory  than  any  ten  great  cities 
of  the  world  combined.  The  two  great  laws  that  govern  the  growth 
and  size  of  cities,  are,  first,  the  amount  of  territory  for  which  they  are  the 
distributing  and  receiving  points;  second,  the  number  of  medium  or 
moderate  dealers  that  do  this  distributing.  Monopolists  build  up  them- 
selves, not  the  cities.  They  neither  eat,  wear,  nor  live  in  proportion  to 
their  business.  Both  these  laws  help  Chicago. 

The  tide  of  trade  is  eastward — not  up  or  down  the  map,  but  across 
the  map.  The  lake  runs  up  a  wing  dam  for  five  hundred  miles  to  gather 
in  the  business.  Commerce  cannot  ferry  up  there  for  seven  months  in 
the  year,  and  the  facilities  for  seven  months  can  do  the  work  for  twelve. 
Then  the  great  region  west  of  us  is  nearly  all  good,  productive  land. 
Dropping  south  into  the  trail  of  St.  Louis,  you  fall  into  vast  deserts  and 
rocky  districts,  useful  in  holding  the  world  together.  St.  Louis  and  Cin- 
cinnati, instead  of  rivaling  and  hurting  Chicago,  are  her  greatest  sureties 


488  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

of  dominion.  They  are  far  enough  away  to  give  sea-room — farther  off 
than  Paris  is  from  London — and  yet  they  are  near  enough  to  prevent  the 
springing  up  of  any  other  great  city  between  them. 

St.  Louis  will  be  helped  by  the  opening  of  the  Mississippi,  but  also 
hurt.  That  will  put  New  Orleans  on  her  feet,  and  with  a  railroad  running 
over  into  Texas,  and  so  west,  she  will  tap  the  streams  that  now  crawl  up 
the  Texas  and  Missouri  road.  The  current  is  east,  not  north,  and  a  sea- 
port at  New  Orleans  cannot  permanently  help  St.  Louis. 

Chicago  is  in  the  field  almost  alone,  to  handle  the  wealth  of  one-fourth 
of  the  territory  of  this  great  Republic.  This  strip  of  seacoast  divides  its 
margins  between  Portland,  Boston,  New  York,  Philadelphia,  Baltimore 
and  Savannah,  or  some  other  great  port  to  be  created  for  the  South  in 
the  next  decade.  But  Chicago  has  a  dozen  empires  casting  their  treasures 
into  her  lap.  On  a  bed  of  coal  that  can  run  all  the  machinery  of  the 
world  for  five  hundred  centuries;  in  a  garden  that  can  feed  the  race  by 
the  thousand  years;  at  the  head  of  the  lakes  that  give  her  a  temperature 
as  a  Summer  resort  equaled  by  no  great  city  in  the  land;  with  a  climate 
that  insures  the  health  of  her  citizens;  surrounded  by  all  the  great  deposits 
of  natural  wealth  in  mines  and  forests  and  herds,  Chicago  is  the  wonder 
of  the  day,  and  will  be  The  City  of  the  future." 


4S9 


CHAPTER  XL. 


CHICAGO    TYPE    FOUNDRY HOW    TYPE    IS    MADE. 

The  Chicago  Type  Foundry  was  first  established  in  1855  as  a  branch 
house  of  a  New  York  type  foundry.  Old  machinery,  tools  and  imple- 
ments that  had  become  worn  and  obsolete  were  shipped  to  Chicago  to 
start  the  new  branch  house.  The  first  type  cast  in  Chicago  was  made 
for  the  Springfield,  Illinois,  JOURNAL.  The  productions  of  three  to  four 
casting  machines  furnished  the  printers  and  publishers  with  most  of  the 
newspaper  type  sold  west  of  Chicago.  The  branch  house,  under  the  man- 
agement of  men*  sent  here  from  the  East,  did  not  prove  a  success,  and  not 
until  the  foundry  changed  hands  in  1863  was  there  any  progress  made  in 
building  it  up  with  new  machinery.  A  new  firm  formed — D.  Scofield 
&  Company — composed  of  David  Scofield,  John  Marder  and  Henry  A. 
Porter,  the  last  named  remaining  a  partner  for  less  than  one  year.  In 
1865,  John  Collins,  father-in-law  of  Marder,  was  admitted  to  the  firm, 
when  the  name  and  style  of  the  firm  was  changed  to  Scofield,  Marder 
&  Company.  After  four  years  successful  business  Mr.  Collins  retired, 
and  in  1869  A.  P.  Luse  purchased  his  interest,  when  the  firm  was  changed 
to  that  of  Marder,  Luse  &  Company,  of  which  John  Marder,  A.  P.  Luse 
and  Carl  Mueller  are  the  partners. 

The  firm  was  in  a  prosperous  condition  and  increasing  and  extending 
its  business  in  every  direction  out  of  Chicago,  when  the  fire  wiped  out 
its  fine  machinery  and  thousands  of  matrices,  with  a  loss  to  the  firm  of 
over  one  hundred  thousand  dollars,  besides  the  delay  in  business.  A  type 
foundry  being  a  business  of  slow  growth,  three  months  passed  before 
much  of  any  manufacturing  could  be  done.  The  business  which  it  had 
taken  years  to  build  up  was  lost.  Business  going  into  other  channels, 
could  only  be  got  back  after  great  sacrifice  of  time  and  labor.  The  printers 
of  Chicago  all  having  lost  largely  by  the  fire,  with  but  little  insurance, 
the  firm  assisted  all  worthy  employing  printers  by  giving  them  credit, 
when  not  one  in  ten  had  any  basis  for  credit  as  far  as  money  went;  but  be 
it  said  to  the  credit  of  the  integrity  of  the  Chicago  printers  and  publish- 
ers, Marder,  Luse  &  Company,  in  a  sale  of  three  hundred  thousand  dollars 
worth  of  presses  and  material,  sold  to  replenish  their  offices,  lost  less  than 
two  per  cent,  on  this  amount.  The  panic  following  close  on  the  fire  was 
severe  on  all  business.  But  Marder,  Luse  &  Company,  Marder  being 
the  financial  manager  since  the  foundation  of  the  various  firms,  always 
paid  one  hundred  cents  on  the  dollar. 


490 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 


The  firm  of  Marder,  Luse  &  Company  have  earned  the  gratitude 
of  the  printing  fraternity  by  perfecting  what  is  called  the  American  system 
of  interchangeable  type  bodies.  Every  job  printer  of  considerable  experi- 
ence knows  how  annoying  it  is,  when  endeavoring  to  combine  different 
sizes  of  type  in  the  same  line,  to  find  that  his  material  will  not  justify. 
It  often  wants  the  thickness  of  a  sheet  of  cardboard,  or  a  slip  of  paper, 
to  render  the  locking  of  the  two  in  the  same  line  practicable.  The 
trimming  of  cardboard  or  paper  consumes  time.  'When  the  line  is  set  in 
this  manner  and  locked  in  the  form,  it  may  be  discovered  that  the  letters 
are  so  cut  on  the  respective  bodies  of  the  two  sizes,  that  when  printed, 
the  alignment  is  imperfect.  But  even  when  the  result  secured  by  this 
irregular  contrivance  is  satisfactory,  so  far  as  the  work  goes,  when  it 
comes  to  distributing  the  form  in  which  the  line  has  stood  for  some  time, 
the  make-shift  will  be  found  noj;  to  have  finished  its  mission  as  a  time-killer. 
The  types  often  cling  to  such  a  strip  with  exasperating  tenacity.  Type 
set  in  this  manner  being  carelessly  distributed,  will  generally  be  found  to 
have  adhering  to  them  small  lumps  of  hard,  dry  paper  pulp,  which  must 
be  scraped  off  before  the  same  pieces  can  be  used  again. 

When  the  differences  in  body  of  the  types,  to  be  employed  in  the 
same  line,  is  too  great  to  be  rectified  by  paper  or  cardboard,  it  then  becomes 
necessary  to  resort  to  leads.  Here  the  obstacle  in  the  way  of  rapid  and 
artistic  work  is  that  the  type  bodies  and  leads  do  not  bear  any  such  rela- 
tion to  each  other  as  to  their  being  used  in  every  instance  just  where  they 
are  most  needed.  The  consequence  is  that  the  design  must  be  abandoned, 
or  the  defects  of  material  supplied  by  other  contrivances. 

When  the  work  requires  the  employment  of  larger  initial  letters  in 
alignment  with  two  or  more  of  smaller  body,  the  job  printer  is  driven  to 
the  verge  of  desperation  by  the  discovery  that  he  has  no  two  smaller  bodies 
which  exactly  equal  the  other.  To  be  sure,  if  he  happens  to  find  what 
he  requires  in  any  of  the  standard  two-line  bodies,  his  difficulties  are 
measurably  reduced.  But  the  knowledge  that  he  must  conform  his  design 
to  the  arbitrary  caprices  of  the  type  founder,  is  a  constant  clog  on  his 
fancy.  So  few  of  the  sizes  are  exact  factors  of  other  sizes  that  he  must 
curb  his  desire  for  tasteful  display  within  the  narrow  limits  prescribed  by 
necessity. 

Now  the  impracticability  of  using  cards  and  slips  of  paper  to  eke 
out  imperfect  justification,  lies  in  the  fact  that  such  things  were  never 
designed  for  such  uses.  They  are  neither  graduated  in  thickness,  nor 
composed  of  proper  material  to  meet  such  emergencies  satisfactorily. 
The  difficulty  with  the  lead  is  that  it  is  graded  in  size  according  to  the 
pica  body.  There  are  other  sizes  not  susceptible  of  combination  with 
pica,  and  consequently  not  with  pica  leads.  It  is  unnecessary  to  enumerate 
them,  as  they  are  familiar  to  every  .printer  of  twelve  months'  experience. 

The  Chicago  Type  Foundry  has  for  years  been  working  up  a  system 
of  type  bodies,  embracing  leads  and  rules,  by  which  thev  shall  become 
interchangeable  throughout.  In  doing  this  the  proprietors  have  been 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  491 

forced  to  act  independently.  Other  founders,  to  whom  this  matter  has 
been  presented  to  secure  their  co-operation,  have  seen  proper  to  ignore 
its  importance.  Marder,  Luse  &  Company  have  shouldered  the  entire 
responsibility  and  expense  of  this  reform,  involving  a  decided  change  in 
some  of  the  bodies  heretofore  in  use,  and  the  construction  of  implements 
and  machinery  for  the  manufacture  ot  new  bedies. 

By  reason  of  the  destruction  of  their  moulds  and  matrices  in  the  fire 
of  1871,  a  new  start  was  rendered  necessary,  thus  enabling  them  to  make 
this  important  change  with  less  trouble  and  expense  than  it  would  incur 
upon  other  founders,  and  also  decreasing  the  liability  of  mixing  the  old 
with  the  new  bodies.  The  importance  of  this  change  as  an  item  of 
expense  to  them  may  be  approximately  estimated  by  any  one,  even  slightly 
acquainted  with  the  practical  details  of  type  making.  The  advantages 
of  the  new  system  to  the  job  printer  will  be  best  appreciated  by  himself. 

To  compensate  themselves,  or  to  secure  in  the  dim  future  an  adequate 
return  for  their  outlay  and  trouble,  the  inventors  of  the  system,  and  the 
proprietors  of  the  trade  marks,  have  secured  their  right  to  the  undisturbed 
enjoyment  of  the  American  system  of  interchangeable  type  bodies.  This 
was  done  through  no  fear  of  attempts  to  pirate  the  system  throughout,  as 
that  would  be  an  experiment  too  costly  for  many  of  this  class  of  com- 
petitors to  undertake;  but  they  wished  to  be  in  a  position  to  protect  their 
customers  from  imposition  by  those  who  might  try  the  less  costly  device 
of  copying  some  of  the  names  by  which  the  new  sizes  are  to  be  known, 
oradopting  the  name  of  the  system  itself. 

This  system,  briefly  explained,  consists  in  adopting  as  the  unit  of 
measurement  for  all  type  bodies,  the  American,  which  is  exactly  one- 
twelfth  of  pica.  This  is  the  smallest  and  is  applied  only  to  leads  and 
rules.  All  thfe  other  bodies  bear  exact  relations  to  this  as  indicated  by 
numbers.  From  American  to  nonpareil,  which  is  numbered  six,  they 
increase  progressively  by  one-half  the  body  of  the  first.  Beyond  this,  to 
pica,  by  an  increase  of  the  size  of  American.  There  are  no  bastard  or 
irregular  sizes. 

The  reason  why  this  radical  change  is  so  difficult  and  expensive  is 
that  it  could  not  be  successfully  carried  out  upon  the  patch-work  principle. 
Had  the  founders  been  content  to  accomplish  the  work  by  introducing 
one  slight  change  after  another,  the  result  would  have  been  to  introduce 
confusion  wherever  the  new  bodies  were  mixed  with  the  old.  It  required 
a  practical  revolution  in  the  entire  system.  This  was  at  length  accom- 
plished, and  we  feel  proud  of  the  fact  that  the  institution  of  a  reform  of 
such  magnitude  should  have  been  reserved  for  a  Chicago  foundry. 

In  this  connection  a  description  of  type  making  will  not  be  out 
of  place.  In  the  earliest  day  of  the  art,  printers  made  their  own  type, 
and  performed  many  other  functions  which  are  now  delegated  to  others, 
and  the  same  roof  covered  several  different  accessory  arts.  Ere  long, 
however,  the  trades  separated,  and  the  type  founder  took  his  place  in  the 
ranks.  Of  course,  the  first  tools  and  materials  used  were  crude  and  but  poorly 


492  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

fitted  for  the  purposes  for  which  they  were  designed.  They  were  cast  by 
hand,  one  at  a  time,  and  the  processes  were  necessarily  slow  and  tedious. 

The  first  attempt  at  type  founding  in  the  United  States  was  made  at 
Germantown,  Pennsylvania,  by  Christopher  Saur,  or  Sower,  about  1735, 
who  cast  the  types  for  a  German  Bible,  which  he  himself  printed.  An 
unsuccessful  attempt  was  made  to  establish  the  business  at  Boston,  about 
1768,  by  a  Scotchman  named  Mitchelson.  Abel  Buell  soon  after  began 
the  business  at  Killingworth,  Connecticut,  and  was  granted  a  loan  of 
money  by  the  Colonial  General  Assembly  to  aid  him  in  his  designs.  At 
the  close  of  the  Revolution,  John  Baine,  of  Edinburgh,  came  to  this  coun- 
try and  conducted  the  business  until  his  death  in  1790.  About  the  close 
of  the  last  century,  Messrs.  Binney  &  Ronaldson  successfully  established 
themselves  at  Philadelphia,  and  from  that  date  type  founding  has  been 
reckoned  among  the  industries  of  the  country.  Now  there  are  about 
thirty  foundries  in  the  United  States;  and  it  is  no  exaggeration  to  say 
that  they  excel  those  of  every  other  nation  in  the  extent  of  their  opera- 
tions and  the  excellence  of  their  wares,  for  in  no  other  country  can  there 
be  found  so  beautiful  and  great  a  variety  of  faces  as  are  made  here. 

Type  metal  is  a  composition  of  lead,  tin,  antimony  and  copper,  all 
of  which  metals  are  necessary  to  give  the  required  ductility,  hardness  and 
toughness.  No  other  composition  has  ever  been  found  which  so  well 
answered  all  the  purposes  for  type  making. 

The  first  step  in  the  making  of  type  is  cutting  the  letter  desired,  on 
the  end  of  a  piece  of  fine  steel,  forming  the  punch,  which  is  afterward 
hardened.  This  is  an  operation  requiring  great  care  and  nicety — there 
being  comparatively  few  adepts  at  it — that  the  various  sorts  in  a  font  may 
be  exactly  uniform  in  their  width,  height  and  general  proportions  to  each 
other.  A  separate  punch  is  required  for  each  character  in  every  font  of 
type,  and  the  making  of  them  is  the  most  expensive  portion  of  type 
founding.  During  the  process  of  its  manufacture,  the  punch  is  frequently 
tested  or  measured  by  delicate  gauges,  to  insure  its  accuracy.  When 
finished,  a  smoke-proof  taken  and  the  letter  pronounced  perfect,  it  is 
driven  into  a  piece  of  polished  copper,  called  the  drive.  This  passes  to 
the  fitter,  who  makes  the  width  and  depth  of  the  faces  uniform  through- 
out the  font.  They  must  then  be  made  to  line  exactly  with  each  other. 
When  thus  completed,  the  drive  becomes  the  matrix,  wherein  the  face 
of  the  type  is  made.  This  undergoes  other  processes  in  fitting  and  finish- 
ing, to  make  it  true  and  square  with  the  body  of  the  type.  Matrices  are 
also  made  by  the  electrotype  process,  for  the  purpose  of  copying  and 
multiplying  certain  faces  without  incurring  the  great  expense  of  cutting 
new  punches.  The  mould  in  which  the  body  is  formed,  is  made  of 
hardened  steel,  in  two  parts;  one  part  is  fastened  to  the  machine  and  is 
stationary,  while  the  other  is  movable,  so  that  it  may  be  adjusted  for  the 
proper  width  of  the  letters,  as  one  is  wider  than  another.  The  accuracy 
of  these  moulds  is  patent  to  every  printer,  who  knows  that  types  must 
be  mathematically  square,  else  they  could  not  be  used. 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  493 

The  combined  matrix  and  mould  are  then  adjusted  to  the  type-cast- 
ing  machine,  which  is  set  at  work  manufacturing  types  at  the  rate  of  from 
one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  per  minute.  The  type- 
casting machines  in  general  use  in  this  country  and  in  Europe  are  of 
American  origin.  The  metal  is  kept  fluid  by  a  little  furnace  underneath, 
and  is  projected  into  the  mould  by  a  pump,  the  spout  of  which  is  in  front 
of  the  metal  pot.  The  mould  is  movable,  and  at  every  revolution  of  the 
crank  in  the  hand  of  the  workman  it  comes  up  to  the  spout,  receives  a 
charge  of  metal,  and  flies  back  with  a  fully  formed  type  in  its  bosom;  the 
upper  half  of  the  mould  lifts,  and  out  jumps  a  type  as  lively  as  a  tadpole. 
You  do  not  see  how  the  letter  was  formed  on  the  end  of  the  type?  True, 
we  had  forgotten;  well,  this  spring  in  front  holds  in  loving  proximity  to 
the  mould  a  copper  matrix,  the  letter  a,  for  instance,  stamped  in  the  matrix, 
directly  opposite  the  aperture  in  the  mould  which  meets  the  spout 
of  the  pump;  and  when  a  due  proportion  of  a  is  cast,  another  matrix 
with  b  stamped  in  it  takes  its  place;  and  so  on  throughout  the  w'hole 
alphabet.  In  casting  small  fonts,  where  frequent  changes  are  made  in 
the  moulds,  the  machines  are  driven  by  hand  power;  but  when  the  fonts 
are  large,  as  in  daily  newspapers,  steam  is  used  as  a  motor,  and  the  indus- 
trious little  machines,  with  scarcely  less  than  human  intelligence,  go 
thumping  along  at  their  work,  requiring  but  little  care  or  attention,  except 
when  changes  in  the  matrices  and  moulds  become  necessary.  The  only 
practicable  method  of  making  type  is  by  casting  them  singly.  All  at- 
tempts at  making  them  by  swaging,  cutting  or  casting  fifty  or  more  at  a 
time  have  proven  utter  failures. 

The  tvpes  are  not  finished  when  they  leave  the  machine.  There 
will  be  found  attached  to  each  a  wedge-shape  jet,  somewhat  similar  to 
that  on  a  bullet  cast  in  a  hand-mould.  The  loose  types  are  placed  upon 
circular  tables,  around  which  are  seated  nimble-fingered  boys  or  girls, 
who  pick  them  up  at  the  rate  of  from  two  thousand  to  five  thousand  per 
hour,  at  the  same  time  breaking  off  the  jets.  A  bur  still  adheres  to  the 
shoulder  of  the  type,  and  this  is  taken  off  by  the  rubbers,  who  rub  the  sides 
of  the  letters  on  fine  steel  files,  manufactured  expressly  for  this  purpose, 
placed  on  circular  tables.  The  kerned  letters  then  go  to  the  kerning 
machine,  where  they  are  dressed  without  disturbing  the  kern  or  over- 
hanging part  of  the  type.  The  types  next  go  to  the  setters,  who  set 
them  in  long  lines,  ready  for  the  dresser,  who  slips  them  into  a  long 
stick — dressing  rod — turns  them  on  their  face,  fastens  them  in  a  bench 
adapted  for  that  purpose,  and  with  a  plane  cuts  a  groove  in  the  bottom, 
taking  off  the  bur  left  in  breaking  off  the  jet,  leaving  each  type  with 
a  pair  of  feet  to  stand  upon,  and  then  dresses  off  the  under  and  upper 
sides,  giving  them  the  bright  silvery  appearance  so  familiar  in  unused 
type. 

The  picker  now  takes  the  type  in  hand,  and  with  the  aid  of  a  magni- 
fying glass  picks  out  each  defective  letter,  which  is  returned  to  the  melting 
kettle.  They  are  then  broken  up  into  shorter  lines  for  convenience  in 


494  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

handling,  when  they  are  sent  to  the  dividing-room,  where  they  are  divided 
into  fonts,  each  having  its  due  proportion  of  the  respective  sorts,  made 
into  pages,  wrapped  in  papers,  sent  to  the  office,  packed,  marked  and 
shipped  to  the  purchaser,  or  put  upon  shelves  awaiting  orders. 

Let  us  go  back  and  observe  some  other  processes  connected  with  this 
curious  place.  Many  have  undoubtedly  wondered  how  brass  rules,  with 
their  multifarious  faces,  are  made.  The  brass  is  rolled  into  broad  plates, 
varying  in  thickness  with  the  purpose  for  which  they  are  designed.  These 
are  cut  in  strips  a  little  more  than  type  height  in  width,  which  are  clamped 
in  an  iron  bench,  where  they  are  planed  on  the  face  to  the  pattern  desired. 
Waye  rules  are  made  by  a  curious  crimping  tool,  while  the  leader  and 
fancy  rules  are  milled  by  machinery — the  larger  faces  by  an  engine  lathe. 

Metal  furniture  is  first  cast  in  hand-moulds,  in  long  pieces,  which  are 
placed  in  planing  machines  for  the  purpose  of  dressing  the  four  sides. 
They  are  then  sawed  to  the  required  length  and  sent  to  the  finisher,  where 
they  are  fitted  to  the  sizes  desired,  insuring  perfect  accuracy. 

Leads  are  also  cast  in  hand-moulds,  in  pieces  about  fourteen  inches 
long.  At  one  end,  where  it  has  entered  the  mould,  will  be  found  a  large 
lump  of  metal,  which  is  cut  off  with  a  lead  cutter.  The  leads  are  then 
sent  to  the  planer  and  shaved  both  sides,  securing  an  even  thickness  for 
their  entire  length.  They  are  then  ready  to  be  cut  to  any  desired  measure. 

Singular  to  relate,  comparatively  few  printers  ever  see  any  more  of 
a  type  foundry  than  its  business  office,  and  except  from  reading,  know 
little  or  nothing  of  the  ramifications  of  a  business  more  intimately  con- 
nected with  their  own  than  any  other.  Those  who  have  not  already 
done  so  will  find  such  a  place  one  of  the  most  interesting  they  can  visit, 
and,  withal,  they  will  be  apt  to  learn  something  that  will  be  of  value  to 
them  in  the  future.  Visitors  to  the  city,  whether  printers  or  not,  will 
find  there  countless  things  to  amuse,  and,  perhaps,  instruct  them. 


• 


495 


JOHN   HARDER. 

The  life  of  John  Marder  is  an  illustration  of  the  success  that  crowns 
individual  effort  and  sterling  moral  worth.  Springing  from  a  compara- 
tively humble  origin,  and  favored  with  limited  educational  advantages, 
he  went  out  into  the  world  while  yet  a  boy,  to  carve  his  own  fortune  and 
to  achieve  position  in  life.  Always  industrious,  careful  in  the  discharge 
of  duty,  scrupulously  honest  and  straightforward  in  business,  he  has 
become  a  representative  of  legitimate  and  enlightened  enterprise  whose 
beneficent  results  enhance  public  good  as  well  as  individual  prosperity. 
To  the  average  American  there  is  something  of  fascination  about  a  life 
that  has  thus  developed  from  modest  beginnings  into  well  earned,  useful 
and  acknowledged  prominence;  and  while  American  society  is  thickly 
studded  with  such  monuments  to  natural  ability  and  untiring  energy,  they 
never  cease  to  interest  and  never  fail  to  instruct.  Nor  does  the  fact  that 
so  many  of  our  prominent  business  and  professional  men  have  been  the 
architects  of  their  own  fortunes,  Tairly  hewing  a  pathway  to  distinction 
through  obstacles  and  difficulties  that  seemed  almost  impenetrable  and 
insurmountable,  at  all  detract  from  the  merits  of  individual  success  under 
such  circumstances.  In  an  age  and  nation  in  which  there  is  such  a  broad 
expanse  of  trained  intellect  and  vigilant  competition  as  there  is  in  ours, 
the  young  man  who  commences  life  without  other  aid  than  the  endow- 
ments of  nature,  and  works  himself  above  the  great  level  in  any  industry 
or  calling,  achieves  what  borders  upon  the  marvelous,  and  the  great  public 
eagerly  seek  the  details  of  his  progress  to  prominence. 

Connected  with  "the  art  preservative  of  all  arts,"  the  enterprise  and 
success  of  Mr.  Marder  are  peculiarly  associated  with  the  progress  of  the 
great  Northwest  especially,  and  indirectly  with  that  of  the  entire  nation, 
which  depends  so  largely  for  its  wealth  and  influence  upon  the  general 
intelligence,  and  its  resulting  material  development,  of  this  garden  and 
granary  of  the  world.  At  the  head  of  one  of  the  largest  type  and  print- 
ing machinery  manufactories  in  the  country,  the  clatter  of  the  printing 
press  and  the  columns  of  our  newspapers  and  periodicals  in  our  Western 
cities  and  towns,  are  something  that  very  closely  unites  the  public  pros- 
perity and  enjoyment  with  his  name  and  enterprise.  To  the  printing 
fraternity  he  needs  no  word  of  introduction.  The  merit  of  the  material 
and  machinery  which  comes  from  his  establishment,  his  honorable  deal- 
ings with  the  fraternity,  and  his  disposition  to  aid  and  encourage  publishers 


49^  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

and  those  dependent  upon  them,  in  adversity,  such  as  resulted  from  the 
great  fire  in  1871 — when  his  house  furnished  thousands  upon  thousands 
of  dollars  worth  of  material  to  those  who  had  nothing  to  offer  as  security 
but  their  misfortune  and  their  honor — have  won  for  him  an  exalted  place 
in  the  esteem  and  confidence  of  publishers  and  printers. 

John  Marder  was  born  March  5th,  1835,  m  Greentown,  Stark  county, 
Ohio,  and  is  of  German  descent,  his  parents  having  come  to  this  country 
from  Germany  in  1820.  His  father,  John  B.  Marder,  died  some  years 
since  at  the  ripe  age  of  seventy-eight  years.  His  mother,  whose  maiden 
name  was  Eva  Margaret  Schmidt,  is  still  living  at  the  age  of  eighty-four 
at  the  old  homestead  in  Ohio.  The  father  of  our  subject  was  a  quiet 
industrious  farmer,  and  the  son,  who  is  the  youngest  of  the  family,  spent 
his  boyhood  life  upon  the  farm,  laboring,  as  was  the  custom  in  those  days, 
nine  months  in  the  year  and  attending  the  district  school  during  the 
Winter  months.  His  few  school  privileges,  however,  he  improved  to 
the  utmost,  and  when  at  sixteen  he  left  both  school  and  the  home  farm 
to  accept  a  situation  as  clerk  in  a  book  store  at  Akron,  in  his  native  State, 
he  did  not  cease  his  efforts  to  acquire  an  education,  but  applying  himself 
to  books  and  closely  observing  things  about  him,  gradually  grew  in  both 
theoretical  and  practical  knowledge.  As  clerk  in  the  Akron  book  store, 
and  as  boy  in  the  printing  office  which  was  connected  with  the  establish- 
ment, he  faithfully  performed  every  duty  that  was  assigned,  and  by 
carefully  mastering  the  details  of  the  printing  business,  not  only  added 
to  his  general  education,  but  laid  the  foundation  for  his  later  successes  in 
life.  He  remained  at  Akron  until  he  attained  his  majority,  when  he 
went  to  Davenport,  Iowa,  where  he  was  employed  as  a  clerk  in  a  book 
store  for  three  years,  at  the  expiration  of  which  time  he  came  to  Chicago, 
with  scai'cely  any  capital  except  fine  abilities,  a  resolute  will  and  an 
unimpeachable  character.  After  three  months  of  hope  and  discourage- 
ment in  this  city,  he  secured  the  position  of  book-keeper  in  the  Chicago 
Type  Foundry,  then  owned  by  a  New  York  firm.  Four  months  after 
assuming  this  new  position,  however,  President  Lincoln  called  for  seventy- 
five  thousand  volunteers,  and  the  young  book-keeper  at  once  responded 
to  the  appeal  of  his  country,  enlisting  as  a  private  in  Company  A,  Chicago 
Light  Artillery.  At  the  close  of  the  term  of  service  for  which  the  enlist- 
ment was  made,  he  returned  to  Chicago,  and  after  aiding  in  raising  the 
artillery  company  connected  with  the  Fifty-first  Regiment  of  Illinois 
Volunteers,  again  returned  to  his  desk  in  the  office  of  the  Chicago  Type 
Foundry. 

Mr.  Marder  had  been  connected  with  the  establishment  in  the  capac- 
ity of  book-keeper  only  two  years,  when  with  David  Scofield  and  Henry 
A.  Porter  he  became  part  owner,  the  firm  being  D.  Scofield  &  Company. 
After  some  other  changes  in  the  membership  and  name  of  the  firm — full 
details  of  which  are  given  in  the  previous  chapter — in  1869  it  became 
Marder,  Luse  &  Company. 

Mr.  Marder  was  at  the  height  of  business  success,  his  firm  rapidly 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  497 

extending  its  business  connections  in  every  direction,  when  the  fire  of  1871 
swept  away  his  entire  establishment,  entailing  a  loss  which  would  have 
disheartened  a  less  courageous  spirit.  Nothing  daunted,  however,  he  and 
his  associates  went  to  work  to  re-establish  their  business  and  to  retrieve 
their  losses.  As  quickly  as  possible,  under  the  circumstances,  a  new  loca- 
tion was  obtained,  machinery  was  brought  from  the  East,  and  the  work 
of  the  great  establishment  again  began  to  assume  method  and  to  promise 
prosperity  to  the  enterprising  owners.  But  the  panic  of  1873  followed 
so  quickly  upon  the  disaster  of  1871  that  it  greatly  retarded  the  prosperity 
of  the  firm,  which  in  common  with  other  business  men  and  houses,  suf- 
fered sevei'e  losses.  With  the  most  admirable  energy,  patience  and 
business  tact,  however,  Mr.  Marder  as  head  of  the  firm  and  manager  of 
the  finances  of  the  house,  directed  its  affairs  safely  through  these  storms 
of  adversity  into  the  calm  and  the  sunshine,  and  among  the  many  financial 
wrecks  which  marked  these  perilous  years,  the  house  of  Marder,  Luse  & 
Company  stood  as  a  monument  to  dauntless  courage  and  persistent  deter- 
mination. 

On  the  twelfth  of  December,  1861,  the  subject  of  our  sketch  was  married 
at  Davenport,  Iowa,  to  Fannie  H.  Collins.  They  have  five  children, 
whose  names  and  ages  are  as  follows:  John,  sixteen;  Walter,  fourteen; 
Amy,  eleven;  Clarence,  nine,  and  Frances,  five. 

Mr.  Marder  has  been  a  member  of  the  Union  Park  Congregational 
Church  for  nearly  nineteen  years,  the  greater  part  of  which  time  he  has 
served  on  the  board  of  trustees,  holding  that  position  at  the  present  time. 
The  church  has  always  found  in  him  a  safe  adviser,  and  a  generous  sup- 
porter. While  thoroughly  a  man  of  business,  and  while  much  absorbed 
in  the  management  of  his  extensive  business,  he  has  never  forgotten  the 
claims  of  society  upon  him,  and  charity  and  philanthropy  have  never  had 
a  more  judicious  patron. 

During  his  twenty  years  residence  in  Chicago,  Mr.  Marder  has  done 
his  full  share  in  building  up  the  fine  business  character  of  the  city.  His 
life  has  been  one  of  industry  and  honor,  directed  by  superior  native  talent 
and  excellent  judgment;  and  such  a  life  cannot  fail  of  impressing  itself 
upon  a  community.  Yet  a  comparatively  young  man  he  has,  in  the 
natural  course  of  events,  an  average  life  time  yet  before  him,  during 
which  it  is  reasonable  to  expect  that  his  present  prominence  in  business 
circles,  and  his  well  established  character  as  a  man  and  a  citizen,  will 
enable  him  to  exert  a  constantly  increasing  influence  upon  the  manufac- 
turing, commercial,  social  and  moral  development  of  this  great  city  and 
Western  country. 


CHAPTER  XLI. 


THE    DEAD. 

While  space  will  not  permit  the  insertion  in  this  book  of  the  por- 
traits of  all  those  who,  as  citizens  of  Chicago,  have  acted  well  their  parts, 
and  left  an  ineffaceable  impress  upon  the  growth  of  the  city,  nor  indeed 
even  allow  the  insertion  of  isolated  biographies  of  all  that  have  a  claim 
upon  our  notice  and  gratitude,  there  are  some  which  cannot  be  passed 
without  a  brief  outline  of  their  lives.  Thfe  following  sketches,  therefore, 
are  grouped  together  and  placed  under  the  head  of  this  chapter: 

"Dr.  Charles  H.  Ray,"  writes  Ex-Governor  Bross,  "was  born  at  Nor- 
wich, Chenango  county,  New  York,  March  I2th,  1821,  and  removed  to 
the  West  in  1843.  He  commenced  his  Western  life  in  the  practice  of 
medicine  at  Muscatine,  Iowa,  and  subsequently  settled  in  Tazewell  county, 
Illinois,  where  he  pursued  his  profession  for  many  years  with  success. 
During  these  years  he  was  married  to  Jane  Yates  Per-Lee,  a  most  esti- 
mable lady,  who  died  in  June,  1862,  leaving,  as  the  fruits  of  the  union, 
one  daughter  and  three  sons.  In  the  year  1851  Dr.  Ray  removed  to 
Galena,  and  bought  the  JEFFERSONIAN,  a  daily  Democratic  journal,  and 
conducted  it  with  remarkable  success,  until  the  time  of  the  Kansas- 
Nebraska  struggle,  when  his  strong  impulses  toward  freedom  induced  him 
to  take  open  issue  with  Judge  Douglas,  and  eventually  led  to  the  disposal 
of  the  paper  and  his  identification  with  the  Republican  party,  then  in 
the  preliminary  stage  of  organization.  In  1854-55,  Dr.  Ray  was  Secre- 
tary of  the  Illinois  Senate,  and  presided  as  such  during  the  exciting 
canvass  in  that  body  which  elected  Lyman  Trumbull  United  States 
Senator  over  his  opponent,  Abraham  Lincoln.  He  gave  his  influence 
to  the  former,  but  in  such  an  open,  manly  way  that  it  never  disturbed  the 
close  personal  friendship  which  existed  between  himself  and  the  latter, 
and  which  continued  to  exist  to  the  time  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  death. 

When  the  legislature  adjourned,  Dr.  Ray  came  to  Chicago  with  the 
intention  of  starting  a  penny  Republican  paper.  During  the  legislative 
session  he  had  been  the  Springfield  correspondent  of  the  New  York 
TRIBUNE,  and  his  masterly  letters  to  that  paper  had  brought  him  into 
extensive  public  notice  as  a  writer.  He  wrote  to  Mr.  Greeley  on  the 
subject  of  a  partner,  asking  him  to  recommend  some  suitable  person,  to 
which  Mr.  Greeley  replied  with  a  letter  of  introduction  to  Joseph  Medill, 
of  the  Cleveland  LEADER,  who  was  just  about  coming  to  Chicago  with 
the  object  of  connecting  himself  with  the  press  of  this  city.  Mr.  Medill 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  499 

arrived  in  Chicago  at  about  the  same  time  as  Dr.  Ray,  and  after  an  inter- 
view, the  former  abandoned  the  idea  of  a  penny  paper,  and  joined  the 
latter  in  buying  as  much  of  the  TRIBUNE  establishment  of  General 
Webster  and  Timothy  Wright  as  their  means  would  allow.  He  had 
identified  himself  editorially  with  the  TRIBUNE  in  April,  1855,  but  did 
not  assume  his  proprietary  interest  until  June  of  the  same  year,  which  he 
held  until  November  2oth,  1863,  at  which  time  he  sold  his  interest  and 
severed  his  editorial  connection  with  the  paper,  to  engage  in  other  pur- 
suits. Those  pursuits  not  proving  successful,  he  returned  to  the  TRIBUNE 
May  25th,  1865,  as  an  editorial  writer,  and  after  laboring  ten  weeks,  he 
left  the  paper  and  embarked  in  another  business.  Two  years  later  he  was 
offered  a  favorable  interest  in  the  EVENING  POST,  a  paper  then  published 
in  this  city,  which  he  accepted  and  retained  until  he  died. 

With  Dr.  Ray's  connection  with  the  TRIBUNE,  and  his  manly, 
straightforward,  and  vigorous  editorial  conduct  during  the  Chicago  riots, 
the  excitements  of  the  Kansas  war,  the  war  of  the  rebellion,  and  all  the 
great  events  which  culminated  in  the  election  of  Abraham  Lincoln  to 
the  Presidency,  the  public  are  familiar.  His  writings  were  so  sharp  and 
trenchant,  so  eloquently  denunciatory  of  wrong  and  so  searching  in 
criticism,  that  they  were  copied  far  and  wide,  and  exerted  a  powerful 
influence — always  upon  the  side  of  the  right,  and  did  much  to  establish 
its  reputation  as  a  fearless,  outspoken  journal.  He  wrote  with  an  untiring 
vigor  and  with  a  searching  analysis  which  went  down  to  the  very  heart 
and  core  of  the  matter,  whether  he  was  exposing  some  iniquitous  political 
scheme  or  moral  wrong,  or  was  exhibiting  some  military  official  in  the 
light  of  his  incompetency.  There  was  not  a  conservative  drop  of  blood 
in  his  veins.  He  always  expected,  and  demanded,  progress,  both  political, 
moral  and  humane.  He  never  needed  any  urging  in  a  radical  direction; 
but,  on  the  other  hand,  his  zeal  sometimes  needed  restraint.  He  never 
consulted  policy,  for  he  had  no  policy  in  his  di&position.  He  never  looked 
at  consequences  when  he  believed  himself  right,  for  he  was  absolutely 
fearless.  When  once  settled  upon  a  course,  he  would  say  to  his  associates : 
'This  is  the  right  course,  and  we  must  pursue  it  to  the  end,  regardless  of 
consequences.'  He  cared  for  no  pecuniary  injury  as  the  result  of  advocating 
an  unpopular  doctrine.  When  subscribers  dropped  off,  as  a  consequence, 
he  would  say :  'Let  them  go.  We  are  right.  They  will  all  come  back 
in  a  few  weeks,  and  bring  others  with  them;'  and  his  words  were  more 
than  once  verified. 

When  Dr.  Ray  left  the  TRIBUNE  in  1863,  it  was  with  the  idea  of 
acquiring  a  fortune  for  his  children,  and  giving  them  and  their  education 
more  personal  attention  than  he  could  do  while  engaged  in  the  pressing 
demands  of  editorial  duties.  His  speculations  were  at  first  very  successful, 
and  he  amassed  a  handsome  competence.  Shortly  after,  he  married  Julia 
Clark,  a  daughter  of  Judge  Lincoln  Clark,  for  a  long  time  a  prominent 
public  man  in  Iowa,  but  then  resident  in  Chicago,  two  daughters  being 
the  result  of  this  second  union.  Blessed  with  the  deep  and  strong  affec- 


500  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

tions  of  his  family,  and  enjoying  financial  prosperity,  everything  seemed 
bright.  About  the  time  of  this  marriage  he  wisely  concluded  to  settle 
on  his  wife  and  children  half  his  property,  which,  through  trustees,  was 
invested  in  improved  real  estate  in  this  city.  With  the  remainder  of  his 
means  he  embarked  in  new  enterprises,  which  proved,  in  the  common 
decline  of  values,  unsuccessful,  and  he  resolved  once  more  to  return  to 
the  editorial  profession,  in  which  he  worked  with  his  old  energy  and 
vigor.  His  excessive  labor  in  the  exciting  canvass,  superinduced  an 
attack  of  brain  fever,  followed  by  many  weeks  of  intense  suffering  and 
utter  mental  and  physical  prostration.  He  at  last  recovered  sufficiently 
to  go  to  Cleveland,  where  he  received  medical  treatment.  He  then  went 
to  Northampton,  Massachusetts,  where  he  remained  for  some  time.  Re- 
turning to  Chicago,  he  at  once  resumed  his  position  on  the  POST  as  editor- 
in-chief.  He  died  September  24th,  1870." 

"It  would  be  useless,"  wrote  George  P.  Upton,  "for  us  to  say  anything 
further  of  Dr.  Ray  as  a  journalist.  The  public  knows  how  well  he  has 
filled  that  difficult  position  during  the  past  fifteen  or  more  years  in  this 
city;  and  his  able  and  vigorous  editorials  have  always  been  a  mirror  in 
which  the  public  could  see  the  writer.  It  was  impossible  for  the  veriest 
dullard  to  mistake  the  meaning  of  anything  he  wrote.  In  our  professional 
association  with  him,  which  extended  over  many  years,  we  learned  to 
prize  him  as  a  man,  and  to  hold  him  dear  as  a  friend.  He  was  not  one 
perhaps  to  attract  numerous  friendships,  for  he  was  brusque  and  impetuous 
in  his  manner,  and  specially  impatient  of  annoyance.  But  those  who 
knew  him  best,  knew  how  genial 'he  was  at  heart,  how  strong  his  affec- 
tions were,  and  how  almost  faultless  he  was  in  critical  taste.  He  was 
intense  in  his  likes  and  dislikes.  He  was  bitter  against  an  enemy,  but  he 
could  not  do  too  much  for  a  friend.  We  have  seen  him  fairly  crush 
insincerity  with  an  explosion  of  his  wrath,  and  then  turn  and  relieve  the 
wants  of  a  traveling  beggar,  and  give  him  kindly  advice.  He  was  the  best 
friend  a  young  man  commencing  newspaper  life  could  have,  for  the  reason 
that  he  was  chary  of  praise  and  never  slow  at  pointing  out  faults,  and 
suggesting  the  remedy.  Perhaps  the  most  striking  feature  of  his  char- 
acter was  his  hatred  of  cant  and  sham.  He  recognized  a  hypocrite  in- 
stinctively, and  he  never  stopped  to  select  choice  or  elegant  phrases 
in  exposing  him.  We  cannot  remember  a  man  so  plain-spoken  in 
denunciation  of  humbug  or  hypocrisy.  He  hit  it  with  all  his  might,  and 
his  might  was  immense.  And  yet,  this  Samson  was  full  of  humanity, 
kindly  courtesy,  and  noble,  hearty  manliness.  With  all  his  multifarious 
duties,  private  and  public,  which  were  often  very  perplexing,  he  found 
time  to  devote  much  attention  to  literature  and  art,  and  in  these  directions 
his  taste  was  fastidious,  and  his  manner  quick  and  resolved.  He  was  as 
impatient  of  sham  in  a  book,  in  a  painting,  or  in  the  music  room,  as  he  was 
of  a  sham  in  life,  and  his  criticism  was  almost  always  just,  even  though 
it  was  excoriating.  The  class  of  men  who  cannot  be  politic  enough  to 
compromise  with  hypocrisy  is  s*3  scarce  that  it  is  refreshing  to  recall  this 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  5O1 

trait  in  Dr.  Ray's  character.  It  made  enemies,  of  course,  but  that  was 
of  little  account  to  him.  The  man  who  has  no  enemies  must  be  all  things 
to  all  men.  He  was  a  hard  worker,  and  in  his  prime  was  capable  of  an 
immense  amount  of  labor,  for  he  was  physically  very  strong.  Few  men 
in  the  journalistic  profession,  indeed,  have  combined  such  power  to  labor, 
such  keen  perceptions,  such  a  nervous,  trenchant  style,  and  such  manly 
and  vigorous  grappling  with  private  and  public  evils." 

Charles  L.  Wilson  was  born  and  educated  in  Fail-field  county,  Con- 
necticut. He  came  to  Chicago  in  September,  1835,  beginning  his  career 
here  as  a  clerk  in  a  mercantile  house,  and  subsequently  serving  in  a  similar 
capacity  at  Joliet.  In  1844  the  EVENING  JOURNAL  was  first  issued  as 
a  Whig  campaign  paper,  advocating  the  election  of  Henry  Clay  to  the 
Presidency,  Richard  L.  Wilson  being  its  editor.  After  the  election, 
despite  its  adverse  result,  it  was  determined  to  continue  the  JOURNAL  as 
a  permanent  institution,  and  it  has  been  published  daily  ever  since,  with- 
out interruption.  In  1845  Mr.  Wilson  was  associated  with  his  brother  in 
the  editorial  department  of  the  paper,  and  in  1848,  the  latter  having  been 
appointed  postmaster  by  President  Taylor,  he — Charles  L. — became 
proprietor  of  the  establishment. 

Although  not  a  graduate  from  any  college,  Mr.  Wilson  was  a  gentle- 
man of  literary  and  intellectual  ability;  a  self-made  man,  emphatically ; 
a  sharp  and  ready  reasoner,  and  as  a  writer  of  sarcastic  repartee  or 
pointed  paragraphs,  had  few  equals.  He  rarely  wrote  elaborate  editorials, 
but  dashed  off  an  argument,  an  opinion,  a  retort,  or  a  "squib,"  hurriedly 
and  briefly,  but  always  with  effect.  When  he  fired  a  shot,  it  scarcely 
ever  failed  to  hit  the  mark.  Some  of  the  most  effective  political  newspaper 
articles  of  our  past  campaigns  have  been  the  short,  pointed  and  conclusive 
editorials  from  his  pen.  He  delighted  in  nothing  so  much  as  in  "shooting 
folly  as  it  flies,"  pricking  political,  editorial  or  theoretical  puff-balls,  and 
exposing  to  public  gaze  the  long  ears  of  such  animals  as  go  about  in  the 
guise  of  would-be  lions. 

The  JOURNAL  was  the  leading  organ  of  the  old  Whig  party  in 
Illinois,  and  advocated  its  principles  and  supported  its  candidates  so  long 
as  that  organization  was  anywhere  maintained.  It  entered  the  lists  fear- 
lessly against  the  order  of  "Know  Nothings,"  which  sprang  into  existence 
at  the  demise  of  the  Whig  party,  and  almost  single-handed,  maintained 
its  position  whilst  that  political  tornado  swept  over  the  countiy. 

In  the  formation  of  the  Anti- Nebraska,  or  Republican  party  of  the 
State,  Mr.  Wilson  was  an  active  participant.  He  was  a  member  of  the  con- 
vention which  met  at  Bloomington,  in  1854,  and  with  Abraham  Lincoln, 
Richard  J.  Oglesby,  Elihu  B.  Washburne,  and  other  prominent  Whigs, 
joined  the  Anti-Nebraska  Democrats  in  the  formation  of  a  party  which 
has  since  been  the  governing  power  in  the  State  and  nation. 

Mr.  Wilson  was  also  a  member  of  the  Republican  State  Convention 
of  1858.  Personally  and  politically  attached  to  Mr.  Lincoln,  it  was  in 
lhat  convention  that  he  offered  a  resolution,  "that  Abraham  Lincoln  was 


502  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

its  first,  last  and  only  choice  for  United  States  Senator  in  place  of  Stephen 
A.  Douglas,"  which  was  enthusiastically  adopted.  Although  opposed  to 
the  ideas  of  policy  maintained  by  many  influential  Republicans,  that 
resolution  induced  Mr.  Douglas  to  change  the  course  which  he  had 
previously  marked  out,  and  which  had  been  approved  even  by  leading 
Republican  journals  in  the  East.  When  Mr.  Douglas  returned  from 
Washington,  after  the  adjournment  of  Congress,  in  the  Spring  of  1858,  his 
friends  gave  him  a  public  reception,  on  which  occasion  he  made  a  some- 
what elaborate  speech,  enunciating  his  political  sentiments  in  reference  to 
slavery,  and  advocating  his  celebrated  docrine  of  "popular  sovereignty." 
Whilst  other  friends  advised  a  different  course,  Mr.  Wilson  urged  Mr. 
Lincoln  to  immediately  reply  to  that  speech,  and  afterward  proposed  that 
he  should  challenge  Mr.  Douglas  to  a  public  discussion  of  the  political 
questions  then  at  issue  before  the  people.  Mr.  Lincoln  adopted  this  sug- 
gestion, and  the  memorable  joint  discussions  that  followed  secured  to  him 
a  national  reputation  as  one  of  the  foremost  statesmen  in  the  country. 
During  its  progress,  Mr.  Lincoln  frequently  communicated  with  Mr. 
Wilson  in  regard  to  the  details, of  that  exciting  contest. 

In  the  contest  which  followed  for  the  nomination  of  a  Republican 
candidate  for  President,  Mr.  Wilson  warmly  advocated  the  claims  of 
William  H.  Seward,  and  espoused  his  cause  in  the  columns  of  the  JOURNAL. 
His  relations  with  Mr.  Seward  were  personally  and  politically  as  intimate 
as  those  with  Mr.  Lincoln,  and  regarding  the  former  as  the  architect 
of  the  great  party  and  its  acknowledged  head,  he  considered  the  nomina- 
tion due  to  him  as  a  matter  both  of  justice  and  policy.  He,  therefore, 
did  not  hesitate  to  zealously  urge  Mr.  Seward's  nomination;  but  when 
the  choice  of  the  convention  fell  upon  Mr.  Lincoln,  though  sorely  dis- 
appointed at  the  defeat  of  his  life-long  friend  and  political  piototype, 
on  the  same  afternoon,  in  a  brief  editorial,  he  urged  a  hearty  ratification 
of  the  nomination,  and  did  much  at  that  time  and  during  the  canvass 
toward  breaking  the  force  of  the  blow  which  the  friends  of  Mr.  Seward 
had  received.  Although  perhaps  not  generally  known  at  that  time,  yet  it 
was  through  his  influence  that  Mr.  Seward  afterward  came  to  the  West 
to  urge  Mr.  Lincoln's  election. 

In  1 86 1,  after  Mr.  Lincoln's  inauguration  as  President,  among  his 
first  foreign  appointments  was  that  of  Mr.  Wilson.  The  choice  of  the 
Secretaryship  of  the  Paris  and  London  Legations  was  tendered  him, 
unsolicited  by  himself  or  his  friends.  He  chose  the  latter.  His  appoint- 
ment was  promptly  made,  and  unanimously  confirmed  by  the  Senate. 
He  discharged  the  arduous  duties  of  that  position  for  over  three  years 
with  signal  acceptability. 

Albert  F.  Dickinson,  a  resident  of  Chicago  since  1854,  and  one  of  the 
first  members  of  the  Board  of  Trade,  died  March,  iSSi.  Mr.  Dickinson 
was  born  in  1809,  at  Hawley,  Berkshire  county,  Massachusetts,  and  was 
of  Quaker  origin.  In  his  youth  he  was  a  teacher.  He  first  embarked 
in  business  as  agent,  with  headquarters  at  Curtissville,  Massachusetts,  for 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  503 

a  large  cotton  factory  established  in  New  York.  Then  he  became  post- 
master, and  attained  distinction  in  several  town  offices,  going  at  length  to 
Boston  as  a  member  of  the  legislature.  In  1840  he  made  a  flying  visit 
of  inspection  to  the  West,  but  returned,  and  was  for  over  a  decade  engaged 
in  business  in  the  East,  first  as  the  proprietor  of  a  flouring  mill  in  Cur- 
tissville,  then  as  owner  of  a  grist  mill  in  Albany,  which  burning  in  1851, 
he  afterward  went  to  Buffalo  and  formed  a  partnership  with  Chester 
Hitchcock.  Thus  was  he  gradually  following  the  current  of  enterprise 
westward,  and  in  1854,  leaving  his  family  for  a  year  in  Buffalo,  he  came 
and  located  in  Chicago,  establishing  himself  in  the  grain  business,  in 
which  he  had  since  remained.  He  failed  in  1857  with  hosts  of  other 
good  men,  having  signed  too  freely  for  others,  but  he  never  made  a  com- 
promise for  long,  and  always  paid  his  debts  in  full  when  given  time.  His 
life  was  despaired  of  in  1872,  when  he  suffered  severely  from  inflamma- 
tory rheumatism.  In  the  few  years  preceding  he  had  established  a 
growing  seed  business,  which  has  grown  until  it  occupies  seven  stores  on 
Kinzie  and  Michigan  streets,  taking  second  place  to  no  other  similar  con- 
cern in  the  city,  and  when  thus  ill  he  turned  over  the  business  to  his  son 
Albert,  his  memory  and  eyesight  having  somewhat  failed. 

Buckner  S.  Morris  was  boVn  on  the  nineteenth  of  A.ugust,  1800,  in 
Augusta,  Kentucky.  His  father  came  originally  from  Delaware,  whence 
his  eldest  brother  joined  the  Revolutionary  Army,  and  fought  from  the 
beginning  of  the  war  to  its  close.  His  mother  was  a  member  of  the  well 
known  Buckner  family,  formerly,  it  is  believed,  from  Culpepper,  Virginia. 
Her  father,  Philip  Buckner,  was  a  captain  in  the  army,  which  secured 
the  independence  of  these  United  States;  he  was  one  of  the  early  settlers 
of  Kentucky,  and  was  a  member  of  the  convention  that  framed  the  first 
constitution  of  that  State;  his  first  settlement:  was  made  where  Louisville 
now  stands,  from  which  he,  with  others,  often  repelled  the  attacks  of  Indians. 

The  education  of  the  youth  was  limited  to  that  obtained  by  atten- 
dance at  a  private  country  school,  previous  to  his  tenth  birthday.  In 
1824  he  began  the  study  of  the  law  with  T.  J.  Strat,  in  Cincinnati,  Ohio, 
and  continued  it  at  Augusta,  Kentucky,  under  the  tuition  of  Martin 
Marshall,  who  was  one  of  the  best  lawyers  in  that  part  of  the  State,  and 
a  nephew  of  John  J.  Marshall,  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  ^United  States.  He  remained  under  his  instruction  about  two 
years,  before  he  commenced  the  practice  of  law.  i 

The  practice  of  Mr.  Morris  was  mainly  in  the  counties  of  Bracken 
and  Pendleton  in  Kentucky,  and  occasionally  in  Brown  and  Clermom 
counties,  just  across  the  river,  in  Ohio.  He  soon  acquired  considerable 
business,  which,  however,  did  not  entirely  satisfy  him,  as  all  the  more 
important  business  went  into  the  hands  of  the  old  practitioners  at  the  bar. 

He  was  elected  a  member  of  the  legislature  in  1829,  and  again  in 
1832.  While  there,  he  took  an  active  part  in  favor  of  the  bill  for  a  con- 
vention to  do  away  with  slavery  in  Kentucky.  This  bill  passed  the 
House  each  session,  but  failed  in  the  Senate,  the  last  year  by  only  one 


504  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

vote.  The  plan  proposed  was  to  declare  all  colored  children  free,  who 
should  be  born  after  a  certain  day.  In  the  Winter  of  1832-3,  the  legis- 
lature of  Kentucky  passed  a  law  prohibiting  the  importation  of  slaves 
into  the  State,  except  by  heirship  or  devise.  But  the  abolitionists  of  the 
North  became  so  rabid  and  dictatorial  that  a  counter-current  was  created 
against  the  South,  and  the  plan  was  given  up  by  its  friends. 

Mr.  Morris  came  here  in  November,  1834,  only  one  year  after  the 
town  of  Chicago  had  been  organized  by  an  election,  at  which  the  total 
number  of  votes  polled  was  twenty-six.  At  the  time  of  his  arrival  there 
were  only  about  thirty-seven  houses  in  the  whole  town,  including  the 
buildings  occupied  by  the  traders  and  agents  of  the  American  Fur  Com- 
pany, or  its  vendees  which  were  located  on  the  military  reserve  of  sixty-two 
acres,  now  called  the  Fort  Dearborn  Addition  to -Chicago. 

Mr.  Morris  immediately  began  the  practice  of  law.  In  1852  Hugh 
T.  Dickey  resigned  the  office  of  Judge  of  the  Seventh  Judicial  Circuit 
Court  of  Illinois,  and  by  the  request  of  many  members  of  the  bar,  Mr. 
Morris  consented  to  be  a  candidate  for  the  office,  and  was  elected.  He 
then  gave  up  his  extensive  practice. 

Judge  Morris  filled  the  office  with  great  acceptability  for  some  four 
years,  and  was  then  tendered  a  re-election  in  such  terms  as  left  no  doubt 
that  he  could  have  been  elected  without  opposition.  But  the  work  had 
already  told  too  severely  upon  his  health,  and  he  declined  the  honor. 

The  legal  services  of  Judge  Morris  in  this  city,  county  and  State 
covered  a  wide  range  of  research,  but  he  was  best  known  as  an  advocate 
and  lawyer.  He  was  a  large  real  estate  owner  at  the  commencement  of 
our  unfortunate  civil  war. 

Judge  Morris  was  an  old  line  Whig;  he  helped  to  defeat  General 
Jackson  for  President  of  the  United  States  in  1824,  and  he  opposed  his 
election  in  1828  and  1832.  The  Judge  opposed  nullification  and  secession 
in  1831-2,  and  approved  Jackson's  message  against  them  when  he  was 
a  member  of  the  legislature  in  Kentucky  in  1832,  by  resolution  in  the 
House.  He  denounced  President  Jackson's  policy  in  destroying  the  United 
States  Bank  and  branches,  and  establishing  State  banks  in  their  stead, 
bringing  financial  ruin  upon  the  country  in  1837. 

In  the  Spring  of  1838  Judge  Morris  was  elected  mayor  of  Chicago, 
being  the  second  incumbent  of  the  mayor's  chair.  At  that  time  the 
Illinois  and  Michigan  Canal  was  dragging  its  slow  length  along,  work 
not  being  suspended,  though  the  financial  crisis  of  the  preceding  year 
had  plunged  the  State  and  country  generally  into  deep  embarrassment, 
which  ultimately  necessitated  the  cessation  of  all  works  for  public  im- 
provement. To  add  to  the  general  affliction,  a  terrible  fever  broke  out 
among  the  men  engaged  on  the  canal,  which  usually  proved  fatal  in 
about  three  days  from  the  time  of  the  first  attack.  Nor  was  the  mortal  it  v 
confined  to  the  laborers;  many  others  died,  among  whom  was  a  brother 
of  Sir  James  Hervey,  one  of  the  contractors  on  the  canal.  The  sufferers 
were  brought  into  the  city  by  wagon  loads,  and  many  left  lying  on  the 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  505 

streets  to  breathe  their  last.  Mayor  Morris  did  all  in  his  power  to  relieve 
them,  spending  three  times  his  salary  of  six  hundred  dollars  in  the  work. 
Many  lives  were  saved  through  his  efforts  and  those  of  Dr.  Betts,  then 
of  Chicago.  During  the  same  year  there  was  wide  spread  distress  among 
all  classes,  owing  to  the  hard  times,  and  many  poor  families  arrived  here 
without  a  cent,  and  the  mayor  was  enabled  with  the  assistance  of  Trow- 
bridge,  Frink  &  Company,  then  running  a  line  of  stages  out  West,  to 
send  these  unfortunates  forward  to  their  destination.  The  administration 
of  Mayor  Morris  was  rich  in  good  work,  and  was  long  and  gratefully 
remembered  by  the  many  who  were  benefited  by  his  efforts.  He  also, 
during  his  term  of  office,  accomplished  many  public  improvements  in  the 
city,  borrowing  money  therefor  of  Messrs.  Strachan  &  Scott,  bankers, 
with  the  aid  of  the  Common  Council. 

Judge  Morris  was  a  candidate  for  Governor  of  Illinois  in  1860,  to 
aid  the  Bell  and  Everett  ticket  for  President  and  Vice-President  of  the 
United  States,  and  in  his  speeches  he  opposed  the  election  of  Lincoln  and 
Hamlin  as  they  were  abolitionists;  and  he  opposed  the  election  of 
Breckenridge  and  Lane,  because  they  wei'e  secessionists  and  supported 
the  extension  of  slavery  territory.  He  declared  that  every  vote  for  either 
the  Lincoln  or  Breckenridge  ticket  was  for  civil  war  and  for  the  sheddin"- 

o  o 

of  blood;  and  that  bankruptcy  and  ruin  would  inevitably  follow,  and 
possibly  the  worst  military  despotism  that  ever  disgraced  any  nation  on 
earth. 

One  of  the  most  disagreeable  experiences  in  the  life  of  Judge  Morris 
occurred  during  the  late  war.  For  the  first  few  months  of  the  struggle 
there  was  little  trouble  at  the  North.  But  when  the  emancipation  policy 
was  decided  upon  by  the  government,  the  Democratic  party  expressed 
dissatisfaction  with  it  as  a  war  measure,  and  forthwith  there  was  a  division 
in  the  camp.  Prominent  Democrats  were  suspected  of  disloyalty,  espe- 
cially those  who  had  been  born  in  the  Southern  States,  and  party  feeling 
ran  so  high  that  at  several  times  it  threatened  to  culminate  in  a  war  at 
home.  Judge  Morris  was  one  of  the  suspected  ones,  though  he  never 
by  word  or  deed  gave  any  one  reason  to  believe  that  he  was  disloyal  to 
the  constitution  and  laws  of  the  land,  for  he  was  known  to  be  a  strong 
supporter  of  both.  He  did,  however,  act  as  he  believed  became  a  con- 
sistent, free  American  citizen,  approving  of  that  which  he  thought  was 
right,  and  disapproving  of  what  he  deemed  wrong  in  principle  and  practice. 

On  the  sixth  of  November,  1864,  at  about  two  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing, his  house  was  surrounded  by  sixty  soldiers,  and  he  was  taken  to 
Colonel  Sweet's  headquarters  at  Camp  Douglas.  Soon  after  a  stranger 
visited  him,  saying  that  the  government  did  not  wish  to  punish  him,  but 
desired  to  make  a  witness  of  him,  although  there  was  evidence  sufficient 
to  hang  him.  He  was  desired  to  prove  that  a  plot  existed  to  liberate  the 
Confederate  prisoners  at  Camp  Douglas,  and  burn  and  destroy  the  city. 
The  Judge  replied  that  no  such  plot  existed,  to  his  knowledge  or  belief, 
and  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  prove  the  existence  of  that  which  he 


506  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

did  not  know  existed.  The  stranger  then  left,  saying  he  would  leave  the 
Judge  to  his  fate.  He  was  afterward  proven  to  be  a  Mr.  Langhorne, 
formerly  of  the  Confederate  army,  and  then  a  Federal  spy.  The  Judge 
was  placed  in  the  well  remembered  White  Oaks  prison  at  Camp  Douglas, 
but  in  a  few  weeks,  through  the  aid  of  a  reliable  friend,  he  was  removed 
to  better  quarters. 

About  Christmas  time  Judge  Morris  and  his  wife  were  removed  to 
Cincinnati,  where  resided  the  Judge  Advocate  who  was  to  prosecute 
them  before  the  Court  Martial,  which  was  to  meet  there  early  in  January, 
1865.  The  Judge  was  four  months  on  trial,  with  seven  others,  though 
the  evidence  given  for  and  against  him,  if  he  had  been  tried  alone,  would 
not  have  occupied  a  week's  time.  The  trial  closed  in  the  latter  part  of 
April,  and  he  was  acquitted  on  each  and  all  of  the  charges;  he  was  dis- 
charged from  prison  and  stepped  forth  again  a  free  man.  Even  his 
accusers  had  nothing  to  say  against  him,  and  all  admired  the  calmness, 
and  constancy  with  which  he  had  endured  his  long  confinement. 

On  being  released,  Judge  Morris  proceeded  at  once  to  Kentucky, 
whither  his  wife  had  been  removed,  then  returned  to  Chicago,  where  he 
visited  General  B.  J.  Sweet,  the  Post-Commandant  at  Camp  Douglas, 
and  procured  from  him  a  letter  to  Major-General  Hooker,  recommending 
that  Mrs.  Morris  be  released  and  discharged.  The  necessary  order  was 
given  after  some  little  delay,  and  the  pair  returned  to  their  home  in  Chi- 
cago, after  an  imprisonment  of  six  months,  the  health  of  both  having 
been  much  injured. 

W.  F.  Coolbaugh  was  born  in  Pike  county,  Pennsylvania,  July  ist» 
1821.  His  father  was  a  farmer.  The  advantages  which  he  enjoyed  for 
education  were  limited  in  the  extreme.  As  soon  as  he  was  old  enough 
to  be  of  any  service  on  the  farm,  he  was  kept  at  home  all  the  year  round, 
except  during  the  Winter  months,  and  at  the  age  of  twelve  his  school 
days  ended  entirely.  The  only  branches  taught  in  the  schools  of  that 
day,  at  least  in  that  region,  were  reading,  writing,  spelling,  arithmetic, 
and  in  rare  cases,  grammar.  It  is  a  circumstance  worthy  of  note,  that 
Mr.  Coolbatigh's  last  teacher  was  Ex-Lieutenant-Governor  Bross. 

At  the  age  of  fifteen,  with  his  limited  education,  and  neither  friends 
nor  money  to  help  him  on,  Mr.  Coolbaugh  resolved  to  leave  the  paternal 
roof,  and  seek  his  fortune  in  Philadelphia.  Tiie  situation  which  opened 
to  him,  and  which  he  accepted,  was  that  of  assistant  porter  in  a  large 
wholesale  dry  goods  house.  Thus  far  providence  had  not  worn  for  him 
a  smiling  face.  Born  in  a  dreary  and  isolated  locality,  and  denied  good 
school  advantages,  he  left  home  to  sweep  floors  and  run  errands.  Butv 
nothing  daunted  by  the  disadvantages  of  his  position,  at  the  very  foot 
of  the  ladder,  the  lad  entered  upon  and  continued  his  new  labors  with  all 
cheerfulness,  steadily  working  his  way  up  until,  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  he 
was  made  the  confidential  clerk.  Soon  after,  the  firm,  one  of  the  most; 
extensive  in  the  city,  sent  him  to  the  far  West  and  Southwest,  where  he 
was  constantly  employed  in  its  business  until  he  became  of  age.  He  then 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  507 

went  into  business  for  himself.  During  the  three  years  that  Mr.  Cool- 
baugh  had  the  entire  charge  of  the  Western  business  of  the  house  to 
which  he  belonged,  the  aggregate  of  his  remittances  exceeded  one  million 
dollars.  He  was  obliged  to  travel  a  great  deal,  and  although  that  was 
less  than  forty  years  ago,  the  traveling  was  principally  done  on  horseback. 
It  appears  from  the  journal  kept  by  him  during  that  time,  that  one  horse 
bore  him  more  than  nine  thousand  miles.  The  modern  "drummer'* 
knows  little  of  the  hardships  of  the  commercial  traveler  in  those  days. 

When,  in  1842,  Mr.  Coolbaugh  concluded  to  be  his  own  employer, 
he  settled  at  Burlington,  Iowa.  For  eight  years  he  was  a  merchant  in 
that  city.  The  prosperity  which  crowned  his  efforts  to  acquire  wealth 
may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that,  in  1850,  he  retired  from  the  mercantile 
business  and  became  a  banker.  The  banking-house  of  Coolbaugh  & 
Brooks  was  organized  at  that  time. 

At  this  period  we  find  Mr.  Coolbaugh  not  only  a  leader  among  the 
business  and  moneyed  men  of  Iowa,  but  also  in  the  front  rank  as  a 
politician.  With  the  restlessness  of  mingled  youth  and  manhood,  he 
could  not  resist  the  temptation  to  enter  the  arena  of  politics;  and  it  was 
well  that  he  did  so,  for  Iowa  is  not  a  little  indebted  to  his  rare  practical 
wisdom  for  judicious  legislation  in  the  critical  period  of  its  infancy.  The 
first  service  which  he  rendered  the  State  was  in  the  capacity  of  Loan 
Agent,  a  position  to  which,  much  to  his  surprise,  the  first  General 
Assembly  of  his  adopted  State  appointed  him.  In  that  capacity  he 
negotiated  the  first  loan  Iowa  ever  made,  and  caused  the  issue  of  its  first 
bonds.  Mr.  Coolbaugh  was  a  Democrat  of  the  Douglas  school,  possessin-j- 
the  warm  personal  friendship  of  that  great  man.  In  the  Baltimore  Con- 
vention of  1852,  he  did  his  best  to  secure  his  nomination,  voting  for  him 
forty-nine  times.  For  eight  years  he  was  a  member  of  the  Iowa  Senate, 
when  Senator  Grimes,  also  a  citizen  of  Burlington,  was  elected  Governor, 
and  Mr.  Coolbaugh  was  the  unanimous  choice  of  his  party  for  the  United 
States  Senate,  a  position  for  which  his  great  financial  ability  and  unpur- 
chasable  integrity  admirably  fitted  him.  But,  fortunately,  as  he  thought, 
after  he  was  entirely  cured  of  the  political  lever,  his  friends  were  the 
minority  in  the  Assembly.  By  a  small  majority,  Professor  Harlan  was 
chosen.  Mr.  Coolbaugh  was  well  known  throughout  the  State,  and 
was  beginning  to  have  a  national  reputation,  while  Mr.  Harlan  had  never 
held  an  office,  and  was  only  known  to  a  few,  and  by  them  not  thought 
of  in  connection  with  politics.  Twenty  years  reversed  the  order.  A: 
the  expiration  of  that  time,  Mr.  Harlan  was  wholly  given  to  state-craft, 
while  Mr.  Coolbaugh's  name  was  rarely  heard  in  political  circles.  His 
reputation  was,  indeed,  national,  but  many  who  knew  him  well  will  be 
surprised  to  learn  that  he  was  ever  a  politician.  In  Iowa,  however,  his 
political  fame  still  lingers.  During  the  gubernatorial  campaign  of  1867, 
his  opinion  in  regard  to  the  fitness  of  one  of  the  candidates  for  that  office 
was  widely  circulated,  which  shows  that  he  continued  to  be  retained 
among  the  oracles  in  the  politics  of  the  Hawkeye  State. 


5°S  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

The  political  services  of  Mr.  Coolbaugh  foreshadowed  his  future 
course.  While  he  was  a  member  of  the  Senate,  and  on  the  Finance  Com- 
mittee, the  State  Bank  of  Iowa  was  chartered.  To  the  perfection  of  its 
plan  he  gave  his  special  attention.  Among  the  provisions  of  the  charter 
to  the  parentage  of  which  he  might  justly  lay  claim,  were  those  pro- 
hibiting the  paying  of  interest  on  deposits,  making  any  loans  on  real 
estate  security,  or  allowing  loans  to  run  longer  than  four  months.  It  was 
acknowledged  by  competent  and  disinterested  judges,  that  the  Bank  of 
Iowa  had  a  model  charter.  A  more  successful  bank  never  was  organized. 
The  State  had  good  reason  to  be  proud  of  it,  and  Mr.  Coolbaugh  of  his 
connection  with  it.  While  this  may  be  set  down  as  the  most  deserving 
feature  of  his  political  record,  it  may  be  mentioned,  in  passing,  that  he 
declared  that  the  part  he  took  in  the  Democratic  National  Convention 
held  in  Cincinnati  in  1856,  and  which  nominated  Buchanan  and  Brecken- 
ridge  for  the  Presidency  and  Vice-Presidency,  was  one  of  the  greatest 
and  most  deeply  deplored  mistakes  of  his  life.  He  was  chairman  of  the 
Iowa  delegation  at  that  time,  and  in  the  following  campaign  was  a  vigor- 
ous worker. 

When  the  rebellion  came,  Mr.  Coolbaugh,  in  common  with  thousands 
of  other  Democrats,  at  once  gave  Mr.  Lincoln  and  the  government  his 
most  hearty  support.  At  the  time  the  order  came  for  seventy-five  thou- 
sand men,  the  treasury  of  Iowa  was  empty.  The  firm  of  Coolbaugh  & 
Brooks  at  once  telegraphed  to  the  Governor  of  the  State  to  draw  on  them 
for  whatever  money  he  might  need  in  fitting  out  troops  in  compliance 
with  the  requisition  of  the  general  government.  This  was  only  a  speci- 
men of  the  entire  devotion  to  the  Union  which  marked  Mr.  Coolbaugh's 
course  through  the  war.  Liberal  with  his  money,  he  always  sunk  the 
partisan  in  the  patriot,  and  in  every  possible  way  helped  in  the  suppression 
of  treason. 

In  the  Spring  of  1862,  he  removed  from  Burlington  to  Chicago. 
Here  he  established  the  banking  house  of  W.  F.  Coolbaugh  &  Com- 
pany. The  primary  object  of  this  firm  was  to  represent  the  State  Bank 
of  Iowa,  which  it  did  until  that  institution  ceased  to  have  an  existence. 

In  February,  1865,  this  banking  house  became  the  Union  National 
Bank  of  Chicago,  with  Mr.  Coolbaugh  as  its  president.  To  give  some 
idea  of  the  business  of  which  he  was  at  the  head,  it  may  be  added  that, 
taking  the  eleventh  quarterly  statement  of  the  Union  National  Bank, 
dated  October  7th,  1867,  for  a  guide,  it  was  the  most  extensive  banking 
house  in  the  Northwest.  Its  deposits  footed  up  three  million,  one  hun- 
dred and  seventy-eight  thousand,  forty-two  dollars  and  twelve  cents;  its 
cash  means,  one  million,  nine  hundred  and  sixty  thousand,  seven  hundred 
and  twenty  dollars  and  sixty-two  cents;  its  total  assets,  four  million,  two 
hundred  and  thirty-eight  thousand,  two  hundred  and  twenty-three  dollars 
and  seventy-six  cents. 

On  the  organization  of  the  Chicago  Clearing  House,  Mr.  Coolbaugh 
was  chosen  the  president.  Upon  the  establishment  of  the  National 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  509 

Bankers'  Association  for  the  West  and  Southwest,  he  was,  at  a  conven- 
tion held  in  this  city  in  September,  1866,  chosen  president  of  that  also. 
These  positions  show  that  he  was  regarded  as  having  no  superior,  if  he 
had  an  equal  among  our  bankers.  Mr.  Coolbaugh  died  in  1877. 

Norman  B.  Judd  was  born  at  Rome,  Oneida  county,  New  York, 
January  loth,  1815.  His  father,  Norman  Judd,  a  potter  by  trade,  was 
born  in  Goshen,  Connecticut,  and  his  mother  was  of  the  Vanderhuyden 
family,  of  Troy,  New  York. 

Young  Judd  received  the  usual  rudiments  of  education  at  the  common 
schools,  and  finished  his  school  days  at  Grosvenor's  High  School  at 
Rome.  After  trying  various  occupations,  he  finally  found  the  profession 
for  which  he  was  specially  qualified — that  of  the  law.  He  at  first  entered 
the  office  of  Wheeler  Barnes,  at  Rome,  as  a  student,  and  afterward  pur- 
sued his  studies  in  the  offices  of  Stryker  &  Gay  and  Foster  &  Stryker,  in 
the  same  town;  and  in  the  Spring  of  1836,  having  just  attained  his 
majority,  was  admitted  to  the  bar. 

In  the  meantime,  Judge  Caton,  his  old  friend  and  schoolmate,  had 
removed  to  the  West  and  settled  in  Chicago.  He  wrote  to  Mr.  Judd, 
requesting  him  to  come  to  the  new  city,  which  had  already  begun  to 
attract  attention.  He  acceded  to  this  request,  and  arrived  in  Chicago  in 
November,  1836,  and  at  once  entered  into  a  partnership  with  the  future 
Chief  Justice.  He  soon  obtained  a  prominent  position  at  the  bar,  and  in 
the  year  1837,  was  elected  the  first  City  Attorney,  a  position  which  he 
filled  successfully  for  two  years. 

In  1838,  Mr.  Judd's  connection  with  Judge  Caton  was  dissolved,  and 
he  immediately  entered  into  partnership  with  J.  Y.  Scammon;  they 
remained  together  in  successful  practice  for  nine  years.  During  the  same 
year  he  was  appointed  a  Notary  Public,  and  in  1842  he  was  elected  alder- 
man of  the  first  ward  of  the  city.  In  1844  he  was  elected  to  the  State 
Senate  on  the  Democratic  ticket,  to  fill  a  vacancy  occasioned  by  the 
resignation  of  Samuel  Hoard.  He  was  re-elected  to  the  same  position  in 
1846,  and — the  new  constitution  cutting  off  half  his  term — again  in  1848. 
His  career  in  the  Senate  was  so  satisfactory  in  the  advancement  of  the 
best  interests  of  Chicago,  that  he  was  returned  in  1852  and  again  in  1856, 

At  the  election  in  the  Autumn  of  1853,  the  repeal  of  the  Missouri 
Compromise  was  agitating  the  whole  country.  The  legislature  of  Illinois 
of  that  year  was  made  up  of  three  parties,  Democrats,  Whigs  and  Anti- 
Nebraska  Democrats.  The  General  Assembly,  in  joint  session,  was 
composed  of  one  hundred  members.  On  its  assembling,  the  full  strength 
of  the  Anti-Nebraska  party  was  eight,  three  Senators  and  five  Repre- 
sentatives. To  this  party  Mr.  Judd  belonged.  Before  the  election  for 
Senator  came  on,  that  small  minority  was  still  further  reduced  by  the 
loss  of  three  of  its  members.  Judge  Trumbull  was  the  candidate  of 
the  Anti-Nebraska  Democrats,  who  could  muster  five  votes.  After  sev- 
eral ballots,  the  Democrats  dropped  General  Shields,  their  candidate,  and 
cast  their  votes  for  Governor  Matteson..  On  the  nineteenth  ballot  the 


510  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

friends  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  the  Whig  candidate,  at  his  request,  dropped  his 
name,  and  joining  the  Anti-Nebraska  Democrats,  elected  Judge  T rum- 
bull  as  Senator. 

The  action  of  the  small  minority  in  this  election  caused  an  intense 
excitement  among  the  Whig  politicians  throughout  the  State,  and  when 
a  candidate  for  nomination  by  the  Republican  party  to  the  office  of  Gov- 
ernor, in  1860,  Mr.  Judd's  opponents  charged  him  with  treachery  and  bad 
faith  toward  Mr.  Lincoln.  These  charges  were  so  persistently  pressed, 
that  Messrs.  Dole,  Hubbnrd  and  Kinzie,  old  friends  of  Mr.  Lincoln, 
addressed  a  note  to  him,  inquiring  into  their  truth.  Mr.  Lincoln's  reply 
expressed  the  utmost  confidence  in  Mr.  Judd's  honesty,  honor  and  integrity, 
and  acquitted  him  completely  from  the  charge  of  treachery. 

In  1856  Mr.  Judd  was  a  member  of  the  famous  Bloomington  Con- 
vention, that  organized  the  Republican  party.  His  prominence  in  the 
convention  placed  him  on  the  Committee  of  Resolutions,  and  secured  for 
him  the  appointment  of  Chairman  of  the  State  Central  Committee,  a 
position  which  he  held  until  his  departure  for  Europe,  in  1861.  He  was 
prominently  engaged  in  the  Philadelphia  Convention  that  nominated  John 
C.  Fremont,  and  also  in  the  Chicago  Convention  which  nominated  Abra- 
ham Lincoln  for  the  Presidency. 

Mr.  Judd  was  one  of  the  party  accompanying  Mr.  Lincoln  to  Wash- 
ington to  assume  the  duties  of  President.  A  conspiracy  was  discovered 
to  assassinate  the  President  elect  on  his  passage  through  Baltimore,  and 
Mr.  Judd's  connection  with  the  counter  plans  to  preserve  Mr.  Lincoln's 
life  was  of  grave  importance.  To  his  sagacity  was  due,  in  a  great  meas- 
ure, Mr.  Lincoln's  safe  arrival  at  Washington. 

On  the  fourth  of  March,  1861,  Mr.  Lincoln  nominated  his  cabinet, 
and  the  first  nomination  after  its  confirmation,  was  that  of  Norman  B. 
Judd,  as  Minister  to  Berlin,  the  most  polished  court  of  Europe.  It  is 
somewhat  significant  that  Mr.  Johnson,  when  he  took  the  place  of  his 
lamented  predecessor,  commenced  his  removals  from  office  by  recalling 
Mr.  Judd,  who  had  been  the  first  one  appointed  by  Mr.  Lincoln.  On 
Mr.  Judd's  return  from  Europe,  the  people  determined  to  send  him  to 
Congress,  and  being  nominated  by  the  Republican  party,  after  a  sharp 
contest  with  John  Wentworth,  the  Democratic  candidate,  he  was  elected. 

Mr.  Judd's  cai'eer  as  a  lawyer  and  business  man  was  one  of  great 
diligence,  and  was  rewarded  with  more  than  an  ordinary  share  of  success. 
In  1847,  after  his  dissolution  with  Mi'.  Scammon,  he  formed  a  co-partner- 
ship with  John  M.  Wilson,  which  continued  until  the  tatter's  elevation 
to  the  bench.  About  the  close  of  this  partnership,  the  firm  was  largely 
employed  in  railroad  practice,  and  from  that  time  until  he  left  for  Europe, 
Mr.  Judd's  attention  was  exclusively  given  to  that  branch  of  the  law. 
He  was  the  attorney  of  numerous  railroad  companies,  director  of  not 
a  few,  and  president  of  one — the  Peoria  &  Bureau  Valley  road. 

As  a  politician,  Mr.  Judd  was  almost  invariably  successful,  chiefly 
owing  to  his  remarkable  executive  ability.  As  a  public  servant  he  was 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  511 

always  faithful,  conscientious  in  the  discharge  of  duty,  true  to  liberty  and 
without  reproach.     Mr.  Judd  died  in  1880. 

We  thus  close  a  chapter  which  will  he  read  with  interest  by  those 
who  sufficiently  admire  Chicago  to  remember  with  gratitude  those  who 
were  among  her  pioneers  or  even  later  settlers,  but  who  did  their  work 
and  now  sleep  in  honored  graves.  These  names,  together  with  many  that 
we  have  not  space  to  notice,  and  those  that  are  mentioned  in  other  parts 
of  this  volume,  make  a  brilliant  galaxy,  which  the  proudest  community 
that  ever  has  existed  or  ever  will  exist,  might  be  proud  to  own.  Chicago 
is. fortunate  in  having  such  names  to  adorn  her  monuments  and  add 
brilliancy  to  her  glowing  record. 


CHAPTER  XLII. 


CHICAGO    MEMORIAL    BUILDING. 

On  the  evening  of  March  26th,  1881,  Central  Music  Hall  was  crowded 
with  substantial  citizens  gathered  for  the  purpose  of  inaugurating  a  move- 
ment to  erect  a  suitable  building  to  commemorate  the  great  fire,  or  rather 
the  vast  charity  of  the  world,  as  exhibited  at  that  unfortunate  time.  N.  K. 
Fairbank  called  the  meeting  to  order,  and  said :  "You  are  aware  that 
a  meeting  was  called  some  time  ago  to  make  some  arrangements  in  rela- 
tion to  celebrating  or  commemorating  the  events  connected  with  the  fire. 
That  meeting  was  held  at  the  Palmer  House,  and  after  considerable  con- 
sultation, a  plan  was  agreed  upon  to  call  a  general  meeting  at  this  place 
to  organize  a  popular  subscription  for  the  erection  of  a  public  library  and 
fine  art  academy  and  art  museum.  A  committee  was  appointed  to  organ- 
ize this  meeting,  of  which  I  was  the  chairman.  We  invited  his  Honor, 
Mayor  Harrison,  to  preside  at  this  meeting,  and  I  have  the  pleasure  now 
of  introducing  Mr.  Harrison  as  chairman  of  the  meeting." 

Mayor  Harrison  said:  "Mr.  Fairbank  has  stated  to  you  the  origin 
of  this  movement.  A  few  gentlemen  collected  together  at  the  Palmer 
House  thought  that  there  should  be  some  celebration  on  the  coming  tenth 
anniversary  of  the  fire;  that  means  should  be  adopted  to  commemorate, 
not  the  fire,  but  that  grand  charity  which  the  world  showed  to  Chicago 
in  the  moment  of  her  dire  distress.  A  committee  was  formed  at  the  last 
meeting,  at  which  I  myself  was  present,  to  get  up  a  plan,  to  devise  ways 
and  means;  but  there  crept  into  the  press  a  mistaken  idea  as  to  the  object 
of  the  organization,  and  it  was  thought  by  some  that  there  was  going  to 
be  a  circus.  Commemorate  the  fire!  That  was  never  the  understanding. 
Before  the  committee  had  come  to  a  conclusion  it  was  determined  to 
adjourn  over,  to  meet  here,  and  have  a  popular  assemblage,  to  have  a  large 
number  discuss  the  question,  and  start  the  movement  in  such  a  way  that 
there  should  be  no  lagging  in  the  future. 

What  is  it  that  we  are  supposed  to  want  to  commemorate?  Permit 
me  for  a  few  moments  to  call  your  attention  to  the  condition  of  Chicago 
on  the  eighth  of  October  next,  ten  years  ago.  On  a  little  spot  here  on 
Lake  Michigan  that  forty  years  before  was  a  morass,  with  only  a  few 
acres  of  it  dry  enough  to  support  a  little  fortress,  with  a  captain  and 
a  company  of  soldiers  to  protect  it  from  the  Indians,  that  little  spot  had 
grown  into  a  mighty  city,  a  young  giant,  whose  name  was  known 
throughout  the  world;  and  its  people  known  for  their  energy  and  enter- 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  513 

prise.  Its  trade  permeated  the  United  States.  Fourteen  railroads  centered 
here.  A  little  sluggish  stream,  which  forty  years  before  had  been  the 
bathing  place  of  the  musk  rat,  and  on  whose  surface  nothing  was  ever 
heard  louder  than  the  noise  made  by  the  paddle  which  the  red  man  used 
in  propelling  his  canoe;  that  little  stream  was  bearing  upon  its  bosom 
a  commerce  greater  than  London  had  at  the  beginning  of  this  century, 
and  far  greater  than  far-famed  Tiber  ever  had  when  Rome  was  in  her 
greatest  glory.  About  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening  there  was  an  alarm 
of  fire.  Ere  morning  ten  acres  of  Chicago  west  of  the  river  were  in 
ashes,  and  we  were  beginning  to  boast  as  Chicago  boasts  whenever  she 
can,  that  we  were  going  to  be  renowned  in  history  for  a  grand  conflagra- 
tion. Our  people  were  wearied  by  watching  that  conflagration.  Our 
firemen  were  worn  out  in  endeavoring  to  extinguish  it.  They  had  suc- 
ceeded. Our  policemen  were  broken  down.  At  ten  o'clock  the  bells 
again  sounded  for  fire. 

I  remember  it  well.  I  looked  out  of  my  window;  looked  to  the 
east;  I  saw  it;  it  was  off  to  the  windward  of  that  tract  that  had  been 
swept  away  the  night  before.  I  thought  it  could  not  be  much.  I  went 
to  bed.  At  twelve  o'clock  at  night  there  was  a  tremendous  drumming  at 
my  front  door.  I  opened  the  door,  and  there  before  me  the  very  heavens 
were  ablaze.  I  looked  to  the  east,  and  for  miles  it  was  like  looking  into 

'  O 

the  mouth  of  a  burning  furnace.  I  told  those  in  the  house  there  was 
a  conflagration.  I  came  down  into  town.  I  endeavored  to  reach  my 
office  on  the  corner  of  Randolph  and  Dearborn  streets.  I  came  up  Lake 
street.  As  far  as  I  could  see  up  and  down  Lake  street  there  was  not  one 
single  spark  of  fire.  I  reached  half  way  between  Dearborn  and  Clark- 
streets  when  there  fell  upon  me  as  if  a  very  rain  of  hot  air.  I  ran  back,, 
•and  when  I  had  reached  two  hundred  feet  away  and  looked  back,  every 
sign  along  Lake  street  was  aflame.  From  that  time  until  morning  there 
was  one  dread  roar.  The  winds  howled,  buildings  tumbled,  flames- 
crackled,  edifices  fell  like  the  thundering  of  cannon  or  the  bursting  of 
meteors.  It  was  such  a  scene  as  one  can  imagine  Dante  could  see  when, 
he  beheld  the  Inferno  of  his  imagination.  For  hours  the  flames  swept 
on,  and  there  was  no  power  to  check  them.  It  burned,  burned,  burned, 
until  there  was  nothing  more  to  burn.  Who  can  tell  the  terrors  of  that 
night?  Many  a  one  was  carried  to  his  last  home,  and  without  a  record 
being  left  even  of  ashes  to  give  his  name.  It  is  said  that  probably  a  thou- 
sand were  destroyed  in  that  fell  swoop.  One  hundred  and  eighty  million,* 
of  dollars  were  swept  away.  Thousands  and  thousands  of  men  who  had 
been  in  moderately  comfortable  circumstances  the  day  before  found  them- 
selves in  abject  poverty.  Hundreds,  aye,  thousands,  who  had  been  before: 
that  time  reveling  in  wealth  had  not  wherewith  to  buy  bread,  or  a  spot 
whereon  to  lay  their  heads.  I  remember  meeting  one  man  who  was 
a  wealthy  one,  supposed  to  be  a  millionaire.  In  his  agony  he  said  to  me: 
<I  have  not  one  cent  left  on  earth;  every  piece  of  property  I  had  is  swept 
-away.'  -There  -Wiis  a  feeling  of  despair  throughout  this  community. 


5H  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITTZKNS. 

agonized  despair,  when  click,  click,  click,  along  the  wire  came  the  news 
that  the  world  was  coming-  to  our  rescue  with  charity,  and  money  was 
coming,  and  food  for  our  people.  From  that  moment  up  hope  came  to 
us,  and  from  that  moment  regenerated  Chicago  knew  no  such  thing  as 
faltering,  and  she  has  gone  on  until  this  is  the  Queen  City  of  the  lakes. 
It  is  that  charity  that  we  are  met  to-night  to  endeavor  to  commemorate. 

Let  me  recount  to  you  a  little  anecdote  that  happened  two  days  after 
the  fire.  I  was  driving  through  the  burned  district;  I  met  a  tenant  of 
one  of  my  principals,  who  a  few  months  before  had  had  a  fine  building 
burned  up.  His  face  was  so  black  with  soot  that  I  did  not  recognize  him. 
I  said  to  him:  'Stephen,  you  are  burned  out  at  last;  what  are  you  going 
to  do?'  He  replied:  'Mr.  Harrison,  when  that  fire  came  over  us  I  felt 
that  all  hope  was  gone;  I  sat  down  expecting  to  spend  my  last  days  in 
poverty,  but' — and  the  tears  trickled  down  his  cheeks — 'when  the  news 
came  how  the  world  was  sending  her  donations  to  Chicago  it  gave  me 
pluck,  and  I  am  digging  out  the  brick  from  my  cellar;  I  am  going  to 
commence  building.'  That  was  the  feeling  that  this  generosity  of  the 
world  developed  in  Chicago,  and  we  are  met  here  to  commemorate  it,  to 
fasten  it  in  the  hearts,  not  only  of  ourselves,  but  of  all  time  to  come,  so 
that  it  will  ever  l>e  remembered  that  Chicago  suffered  as  no  city  ever 
suffered,  and  that  no  city  on  the  face  of  the  globe  was  ever  more  befriended 
by  mankind. 

What  are  we  to  do?  All  of  the  millions  of  dollars  that  poured  into 
the  lap  of  Chicago,  has  been  spent  and  gone.  The  monument  of  it  has 
been  swept  away,  except  that  monument  that  lives  in  the  Chicagoan's 
heart.  That  lives  there,  and  will  live  fresh  as  long  as  we  live  who  are 
contemporary.  But  there  is  one  little  thing  left.  I  said  all  was  gone; 
I  made  one  mistake.  A  few  thousand  volumes  of  books  donated  by  Tom 
Hughes  and  British  authors  are  here  in  a  combustible  building,  the  only 
thing  that  is  left,  a  tangible,  palpable  memorial  of  the  world's  benefit  to  us. 

It  was  my  friend  Mr.  Allen,  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Inspectors 
of  the  Library,  who  conceived  the  idea  that  this  should  be  the  nucleus 
of  a  vast  library,  and  around  it  should  be  thrown  a  vast  building  that 
should  be  a  monument  of  the  world's  generosity  to  us.  He  published  in 
the  papers  letters  setting  forth  his  plan.  At  once  everybody  conceded 
that  it  was  an  admirable  plan.  Now  permit  me  to  say  what  we  think 
will  be  the  true  thing  to  be  done.  Mr.  Allen's  plan  is,  and  it  is  a  good 
one,  to  have  a  subscription  list  sent  through  every  ward,  along  every 
street,  every  block,  and  to  every  house  in  the  city  of  Chicago,  to  get  sub- 
scriptions. Take  from  the  millionaire  his  thousands;  from  the  moderate 
man  his  hundreds;  take  from  the  school-boy  his  dime,  and  he  believes  that 
we  can  get  enough  to  erect  a  magnificent  building.  Then  what  should 
that  building  be?  It  should  be  fire-proof;  it  should  be  ornamental.  It 
should  be  a  library,  and  if  there  be  means  enough,  an  art  museum.  But 
there  should  be  one  other  thing  that  I  want  to  present  to  you.  There 
should  be  in  that  building  a  large  room  with  a  beautiful  and  vaulted  ceil- 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  515 

ing  that  should  be  called  the  Memorial  Hall.  Its  architectural  style 
should  be  such  that  on  its  walls  can  be  a  commemoration  of  the  fire.  It 
will  not  be  decorated  to-day,  or  to-morrow,  or  next  year,  but  as  men  of 
genius  in  after  years,  excited  by  the  recollections  or  the  traditions  of  the 
fire,  may  paint  works  of  art  to  adorn  its  walls  and  to  make  it  a  fire  com- 
memoration. In  that  room  there  should  be  splendidly  bound  volumes 
of  heavy  paper,  on  which  the  name  of  each  subscriber,  if  it  be  so  little 
as  one  cent  which  some  poor  school-boy  may  give,  may  be  recorded.  Let 
the  name  of  every  person  that  subscribed  be  there,  if  it  swallows  up  the 
entire  census  of  Chicago.  Let  them  be  put  there  in  alphabetical  order 
or  under  heads,  and  thus  go  down  to  the  latest  generation  as  the  men, 
women  and  children  who  built  this  monument.  In  that  room  there  should 
be  relics  of  the  fire,  all  that  we  can  get,  properly  arranged,  and  every  single 
dispatch  and  letter,  whether  written  by  public  or  by  private  individuals, 
by  cities  or  by  corporations,  to  the  city  of  Chicago,  or  to  corporations  or 
individuals  in  Chicago,  tendering  help  or  presenting  means.  Those  let- 
ters should  be  there  left  as  a  memorial  to  be  kept  fresh  forever  of  the 
people  who  donated  to  us  these  magnificent  gifts.  A  clerk  should  be 
employed  whose  business  it  would  be  to  copy  off  these  dispatches — we 
have  got  the  most  of  them  left — copy  them  so  that  in  after  years  people 
coming  from  foreign  countries  may  look  over  them  and  find  a  dispatch 
that  they  wrote  to  Chicago  making  a  donation. 

Here  let  me  call  your  attention  to  one  fact  that  happened  in  my 
experience.  When  sitting  at  the  table  d'  hote  in  Germany  some  one 
found  I  was  from  Chicago,  and  came  up  to  me  saying:  'You  are  from 
Chicago?'  'Yes.'  'I  have  got  an  interest  in  that  town.'  I  looked  up  to 
him,  supposing  he  was  going  to  consult  me  as  to  how  his  real  estate  was 
Valued,  but  he  said:  'I  sent  fifty  marks  to  Chicago  after  the  fire;  I  have 
got  an  interest  in  that  city.'  Thousands  of  people  throughout  the  world 
sent  their  money  and  they  have  an  interest  in  our  city.  We  want  to 
commemorate  those  things." 

E.  G.  Asay  spoke  as  follows:  "I  had  no  idea  that  I  should  be  put 
forward  to  make  the  first  shot.  I  was  not  here  at  the  time  of  the  fire,  and 
therefore  cannot  speak  of  that.  I  did  not  see  much  of  the  results  of  the 
fire  until  the  new  Chicago  had  almost  been  born.  I  will,  therefore,  speak 
simply  of  that  question  which,  perhaps,  is  nearest  the  heart  of  us  all  at 
this  moment — the  proposed  Memorial  Building — the  outpouring  of  the 
gratitude  of  our  people  in  a  sane  form.  I  do  not  come  to  speak  to  you 
of  a  gigantic  enterprise;  the  land  is  full  of  these;  but  I  come  to  speak 
simply  in  favor  of  doing  that  thing  which  is  better  than  the  gift  of  bread 
to  men  able  to  earn  their  own  bread.  It  does  not  seem  to  me  that  in  this 
period  of  our  history  we  are  too  much  given  to  belief  in  that  dogma 
which  was  loosely  uttered  long  years  since,  it  is  said,  by  Mr.  Beecher,  that 
there  is  more  gospel  in  a  loaf  of  bread  than  in  intellectual  things.  I  do 
not  believe  that  it  is  charity,  nor  do  you,  to  give  a  loaf  to  a  man  who  i, 
able  to  work  for  his  bread.  Nor  is  it  charity  to  afford  a  place  of  shelter 


5J6  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

to  a  woman  who  can  earn  a  place  of  shelter  for  herself.  The  real  gospel 
that  this  age  demands  is  this:  Such  instruction  and  help  as  will  enable 
the  getter  of  that  help  and  instruction  to  make  a  better  living  for  himself 
and  better  surroundings  for  those  he  is  interested  in. 

Now  you  can  do  this  in  many  ways.  You  may  furnish  employment, 
you  may  furnish  education,  you  may  furnish  means  of  culture.  You  may 
take  the  rough-handed  mechanic,  and  make  an  artisan  of  him.  You 
may  take  the  sign-dauber,  and  make  an  artist  of  him.  You  may  take  the 
rough  maker  and  worker  in  metals,  and  you  may  make  of  him  a  Vernet, 
and  he  will  produce  you  things  of  beauty.  But  before  you  do  this  you 
must  give  him  the  means  of  culture.  And  he  can  only  have  the  means 
of  self-culture  when  you  give  him  the  opportunity  of  contact  with  things 
that  produce  culture.  You  cannot  make  an  artist  by  telling  him  how  to 
handle  a  brush;  but  you  may  show  him  what  the  brush  has  done,  and 
his  own  heart  will  find  out  the  mode  of  handling  the  brush  to  produce 
the  result;  his  own  brain  will  drive  him  forward.  I  speak  of  this  topic 
simply  for  this  purpose:  A  city  does  not  consist  altogether  in  the  number 
of  its  houses,  in  the  number  of  its  people.  It  is  something  more  than 
this,  something  grander  than  this,  something  greater  than  this.  Look 
back  upon  all  the  past.  What  remains  of  the  days  that  have  been  buried 
in  their  tombs?  It  is  the  great  works  of  art,  of  culture,  that  men  have 
erected  which  remain  behind.  The  builders'  names  are  buried  and  gone; 
the  buildings  tower  up  to-day.  Men  cross  oceans.  Men  go  through 
perils  that  they  may  but  once  gaze  upon  those  remains  of  the  past.  And 
why?  They  ai'e  the  things  that  build  up  cities — make  cities  attractive. 

In  asking  you  to-night  to  join  with  others  in  building  a  grand  memo- 
rial hall — a  grand  memorial  building — we  ask  you  to  give  to  this  community 
simply  this:  A  paying  investment — something  that  will  elevate  mankind 
and  womankind;  that  will  give  them  the  opportunity  of  contact  with 
instructive  things.  What  can  you  do  better  than  this  as  a  mere  monev 
investment?  If  no  other  or  higher  motive  is  in  view,  what  better  can 
you  do  than  this?  What  will  the  men  of  your  own  generation  and  of 
the  coming  one  thank  you  for?  For  this,  and  for  this  more  than  anything 
else  that  you  can  give  them. 

The  chairman  has  told  you  that  he  wants  a  grand  memorial  hall. 
That  is  highly  proper;  but  give  us  a  home  for  the  library! — a  receptacle 
for  books,  where  the  workingman,  after  his  hours  of  labor  are  over,  can 
go,  get  a  volume,  take  it  home  and  read  it  to  his  family.  Give  us  that 
first,  and  then  give  us  a  home  for  the  school  of  the  workingmen.  Give 
us  a  place  where  workingmen  can  go  and  receive  culture.  That  is  the 
kind  of  Socialism  Jesus  of  Nazareth  taught.  That  is  the  kind  of  Socialism 
that  will  win  in  this  world  to-day.  That  is  the  Socialism  that  will  make 
the  men  immortal  in  the  hearts  of  those  who  receive  it  from  generation 
to  generation  at  their  hands. 

Then  we  want  something  higher  than  this,  again.  Give  them  their 
books  to  read.  Give  them  their  schools  to  learn.  When  you  have  done 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  5X7 

this,  let  us  have  in  this  same  memorial  building  other  means  of  culture. 
I  like  that  idea  of  a  grand  art  institution  connected  with  it.  And  that 
means  very  much.  Thank  God  we  have  one  place  in  this  community 
exactly  adapted  to  the  purpose.  Nothing  so  beautiful,  nothing  so  well 
adapted  as  our  lake  front,  about  which  so  much  talk  has  been  had.  It  is 
a  good  breathing  spot.  It  will  furnish  breath  to  the  city.  It  will  not 
hurt  it  in  the  least  if  the  airs  and  breezes  of  the  lake  come  across  a  grand 
building  devoted  to  education,  to  art,  to  mechanics — a  place  of  higher 
culture,  and,  as  the  chairman  has  very  aptly  said,  let  us  have  it  fireproof, 
too. 

One  single  word,  and  I  guess  the  balance  of  my  five  minutes  will 
be  more  than  exhausted.  And  it  is  simply  this:  I  do  not  ask  you  people 
of  Chicago,  as  I  told  you  in  the  outset,  to  do  a  charitable  act.  I  ask  you 
simply  to  make  money  for  yourselves  in  this.  You  cannot  make  a  better 
business  investment  than  this.  It  will  bring  more  money  into  your 
pockets.  It  will  bring  more  money  into  your  community.  It  will  bring 
more  money  into  your  houses,  into  your  workshops,  into  your  storehouses, 
into  your  warehouses,  than  any  other  scheme — I  will  venture  my  life  for 
the  stake — that  you  can  enter  upon.  Why,  the  Central  Park  of  New 
York  has  been  at  once  the  greatest  means  of  culture  and  the  greatest 
means  of  profit  to  the  city  of  New  York.  And  so  it  is  with  everything 
of  this  kind.  The  Grand  Opera  House  in  New  York  has  drawn  thou- 
sands of  people,  from  the  very  Rocky  Mountains  to  the  Atlantic,  that 
they  might  enjoy  the  singing  there.  And  so  you  might  run  the  gauntlet 
of  these  grand  enterprises  that  have  been  set  on  foot  in  this  country. 
And  so  I  tell  you  here,  every  brick  that  you  put  in  the  foundation  of  this 
building  is  a  golden  brick;  every  stone  that  you  put  in  the  foundation  is 
of  more  than  diamond  value  as  a  mere  money  transaction  to  the  city 
of  Chicago.  It  will  do  more.  Such  a  building  as  this  alone  would  do 
more  to  build  up  the  city  of  Chicago  than  the  coming  of  five  grand  mer- 
chants from  the  East  to  the  West.  Then  I  ask  you  simply  to-night  to 
join  in  this  enterprise  with  the  rest  to  do  the  thing  that  your  own  hearts 
ought  to  ask,  that  your  own  hearts  do  ask,  and  that  your  own  hearts  are 
yearning  for." 

Bishop  McLaren  followed,  and  spoke  as  follows:  "To  me  the  chief 
significance  of  this  occasion  is  the  fact  that,  in  a  community  young,  fresh, 
jubilant  and  triumphant  in  developing  the  material  resources  of  this 
Western  world,  the  memorial  of  our  great  calamity  takes  the  shape  of  an 
intellectual  development.  It  seems  to  say:  Mind  is  above  matter.  It 
seems  to  say:  There  is  something  higher  in  life  than  the  acquisition  of 
money ;  or,  in  other  words,  that  money  is  not  the  true  wealth.  It  reveals 
the  prospect  that,  in  the  secondary  stage  of  our  growth  as  one  of  the  great 
cities  of  the  world,  we  propose  to  make  progress  in  the  cultivation  of  the 
intellectual  powers  and  of  the  graces  and  humanities  that  shall  lift  us 
above  the  plane  of  a  merely  material  prosperity.  This,  I  say,  is  to  me 
the  radiant  thought  to-night. 


518  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

It  has  further  occurred  to  me  that  this  particular  form  of  memorial 
is  one  which  shall  enable  us  as  a  community  to  perform  a  duty  which  we 
owe  in  two  directions. 

This  leads  me  first  to  remark  that,  notwithstanding  the  individualizing 
tendencies  of  our  time,  we  are  all  in  some  sense  members  one  of  another. 
We  cannot  escape  corporate  relations.  Every  individual  belongs  to  and 
is  a  constituent  element  in  the  past  and  in  the  future;  and  what  is  true 
of  the  individual  is  true  of  the  community.  Hence  we  are  involved  in 
duties  that  have  reference  both  to  the  past  and  to  the  future. 

Now,  it  seems  to  me  that  in  no  way  can  we  discharge  our  obligations 
to  the  past  more  handsomely  than  by  sedulously  treasuring  its  literature, 
with  all  care  and  at  any  outlay.  It  is  only  in  its  literature  that  the  thought 
of  the  past  really  survives.  The  oldest  things  of  our  era  to-day  are  the 
manuscripts  of  the  earliest  centuries,  and  they  are  as  young  now  as  when 
they  were  written.  Temples  crumble  to  ruin;  defaced  hieroglyphs  tell  only 
a  partial  tale;  the  great  pyramid  that  defies  time  has  no  tongue  to  tell  its 
own  story  with  infallible  precision.  But  a  book  talks  to  you  in  just  the 
same  tones  and  with  exactly  the  same  language  with  which  it  addressed 
those  who  first  gazed  upon  its  pages.  Even  the  natural  world,  whose 
hills  we  call  everlasting,  and  whose  little  brooks1  Tennyson  makes  say — • 
For  men  may  come  and  men  may  go, 
But  I  go  on  forever, 

—even  the  natural  world  suffers  great  changes  of  expression  and  fails  to 
keep  its  own  record  correctly;  but  books  if  preserved  at  all  are  preserved 
in  their  integrity  and  completeness.  The  past  writes  itself  down  in  his- 
tory, fiction,  poem,  play  and  treatise,  thus  perpetuating  and  handing  itself 
over  to  its  successors;  and  we  must  see  to  it  that  that  past,  to  which  we 
owe  so  much,  is  rendered  immortal. 

But  we  must  avoid  a  narrow  and  selfish  idea  of  our  conservative 
work.  Not  for  ourselves  only,  but  for  them  that  come  after,  must  we 
labor.  The  granite  and  marble  which  we  put  into  our  cemeteries  transmit 
only  memories  that  like  fleeting  shadows,  shall  soon  pass  away.  But  in 
gathering  and  handing  down  to  the  future  a  great  treasure-house  of  litera- 
ture and  art,  we  bequeath  a  heritage  at  once  priceless  and  endearing. 
When  the  Caliph  Omar,  if  the  story  is  true,  burned  the  Alexandrian 
Library,  in  the  name  of  Mohammedan  fanaticism,  he  inflicted  a  calamity 
not  only  on  contemporary  civilization,  but  on  all  time.  We  in  Chicago 
are  poorer  to-day  for  that  loss.  What  treasures  of  thought  and  history 
perished  there!  How  many  insoluble  problems  in  every  department  of 
human  affairs  were  created  by  the  destruction  of  testimony  in  that  baleful 
vandalism! 

I  want  to  see  a  massive  edifice  built  here  that  shall  become  the  pride 
of  the  land,  in  which,  by  every  contrivance  of  art,  the  ever-increasing 
store  of  books  and  pictures  shall  be  assured  to  the  generations  that  are  to 
people  this  continent  in  the  ages  to  come. 

Let  us  write  a  policy  of  insurance  in  stone,  brass,  iron  and  steel,  that 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  519 

shall  prevent  loss  rather  than  compensate  for  it;  and  the  Chicagoan 
of  1981  will  have  it  to  say  of  us:  'We  know  of  the  great  fire  of  an  hun- 
dred and  ten  years  ago,  not  by  memory  of  the  material  losses  that  almost 
crushed  the  men  of  that  day,  but  by  the  foresight  that  prompted  them 
and  the  unconquerable  energy  that  enabled  them  to  bequeath  to  us  this 
pantheon  of  intellectual  and  moral  splendor.' " 

Thomas  Hoyne  was  then  introduced,  and  said :  "The  eighth  and  ninth 
days  of  October,  1871,  will  ever  be  clays  to  be  remembered  in  the  annals 
of  this  city.  They  were  days  of  great  destruction,  but  they  were  also 
days  of  a  creation. 

The  great  fire  destroyed  a  city  of  thirty  years'  standing,  gradually 
raising  itself  from  a  frontier  post  in  the  wilderness  to  accommodate  the 
trade  of  a  few  scattered  thousands  of  people.  But  out  of  the  fire  has 
come  a  new  city,  demanded  by  the  exigencies  of  a  rising  empire,  a  trade 
center  of  commerce,  where  millions  instead  of  thousands  are  to  exchange 
the  products  of  the  globe  in  the  near  future. 

The  fire  also  destroyed  many  private  collections  of  literary  and 
artistic  treasures,  and  burned  down  three  public  libraries.  But  out  of  the 
fire  came  the  new  foundation  of  our  'free  public  library.' 

It  certainly  was  a  happy  inspiration  of  the  gentlemen  having  in 
charge  the  subject  of  this  proposed  anniversary  of  the  great  fire,  that  they 
should  have  hit  upon  the  end  of  this  decade  to  adopt  this  library  as  the 
object  of  a  proposed  memorial  building  in  which  to  perpetuate,  preserve 
and  distribute  its  blessings.  While  in  itself  no  greater  agency  of  our 
culture  can  be  established  than  the  literature  it  will  contain,  the  building 
to  be  erected  will  mark  the  triumphs  which  under  the  favor  of  Providence 
Chicago  has  achieved.  If  sublime  energy  and  courage  in  a  people, 
brought  as  they  were  face  to  face  with  the  terrors  of  one  of  the  greatest 
calamities  which  ever  befell  a  city,  ever  deserved  a  monument,  the  whole 
demeanor  and  manliness  of  the  Chicago  people  under  that  disaster  calls 
for  a  trophy,  crowned  as  it  will  be  by  the  applause  of  mankind! 

It  is,  however,  not  to  be  forgotten  that  the  instantaneous  and  universal 
sympathy  of  mankind  was  called  into  action  by  the  terrible  nature  of  the 
calamity.  The  extent  and  substantial  nature  of  that  sympathy  never  had 
a  parallel  in  the  whole  history  of  human  misfortunes!  Millions  of  dollars 
in  money  and  other  millions  in  substantial  aid  came  to  the  city  from  every 
corner  of  the  world. 

And  at  last,  when  our  people  themselves  protested  that  all  our  material 
needs  were  satisfied,  that  all  our  naked  were  clad,  and  our  hungry  had 
been  fed,  then  went  forth  the  appeal  on  behalf  of  our  intellectual  needs. 
Then  it  was  that  Thomas  Hughes,  of  London,  or  Tom  Brown,  of  Oxford, 
thrilled  the  hearts  and  wet  with  tears  the  eyes  of  our  people  in  that  dread 
Winter  of  the  burning  ruins  of  prostrate  homes  and  humbled  fortunes, 
by  an  appeal  to  all  authors  and  publishers,  to  happy  owners  of  full  libraries 
in  Great  Britain,  to  send  contributions  of  their  literary  works  as  a  token 
of  kinship  and  a  mark  of  sympathy  for  the  formation  of  a  free  public 


'520  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

library  in  Chicago.  The  appeal  was  promptly  answered.  Thousands 
of  volumes  were  collected  and  came  pouring  in,  at  the  Crystal  Palace, 
near  London,  before  we  began  to  move  in  Chicago. 

And  among  the  collections  which  came  immediately  to  hand  and  are 
now  in  the  library,  were  a  subscription  of  the  British  Patent-Office 
Reports,  some  four  thousand  volumes,  which  are  only  sent  out  to  other 
countries  on  very  strict  conditions  where  large  libraries  are  established 
in  the  principal  seats  of  population.  We  had  sent  us  invaluable  contribu- 
tions from  the  British  Museum.  The  University  of  Oxford  sent  her 
magnificent  collection.  The  great  statesmen,  Gladstone,  Disraeli,  Bright, 
Justin  McCarthy  and  others,  and  also  the  works  of  living  authors — such 
as  Carlvle  and  Stuart  Mill,  in  all  which  were  written  their  autographs, 
which  remain  with  the  volumes,  a  treasured  legacy  of  their  kindness  for 
generations  to  come.  The  English  government,  beside  the  Patent-Office 
Reports,  sent  one  hundred  and  eighty-two  volumes  of  the  Calendar  State 
papers,  and  one  hundred  and  twelve  volumes  of  the  chronicles  and 
memorials  of  the  earliest  times.  And  to  crown  all,  the  Queen  herself 
sent  in  her  autograph  upon  a  volume  of  the  life  of  the  Prince  Consort. 

We  had  also  to  acknowledge  contributions  from  Scotland,  Ireland, 
France  and  Germany,  though,  in  speaking  of  England,  we  include  the 
sister  islands  of  Ireland  and  Scotland  as  well.  About  seven  thousand 
volumes  were  I'eceived  in  the  first  months  of  the  year  1872,  all  inscribed 
on  the  fly-pages,  next  the  title  of  the  book,  that  they  are  sent  as  a  'mark 
of  sympathy'  to  Chicago  for  the  new  free  library. 

Now,  it  will  be  understood  that,  in  view  of  such  facts,  a  question 
of  the  very  highest  moral  obligation  arises,  and  it  should  not  be  over- 
looked! Can  this  city  or  its  citizens  assume  such  a  trust  in  the  interests 
of  mankind  and  our  municipal  civilization,  and  then  neglect  or  violate 
the  sacred  pledge  or  conditions  upon  which  it  was  assumed? 

The  pride,  good  faith,  and  public  honor  of  every  citizen  would  scorn 
an  imputation  of  such  a  failure!  It  is,  therefore,  the  public  sentiment  of 
a  sound  morality  which  is  moving  our  community  to  give  this  library, 
the  gift  of  foreign  peoples,  the  offspring  of  the  fire,  a  memorial  public 
building  worthy  of  the  occasion,  in  which  to  preserve  these  treasures, 
and  from  which  may  be  dispensed  their  benefits. 

How  shall  this  public  building  be  erected?  I  shall  not  stop  to  repeat 
that  so  precious  seemed  this  generosity  of  the  British  people  in  1872  that 
the  National  Government  united  with  the  city  in  giving  a  permanent 
home  to  the  library  in  what  had  been  the  old  postoffice.  That  was 
defeated  and  its  design  frustrated. 

But  the  question  to-night  is:  Will  the  people  of  this  city  be  true  to 
themselves,  and  the  culture  of  the  age?  Such  a  memorial  is  worthy  of  our 
city  and  equal  in  dignity  to  the  treasures  it  will  contain,  and  how  can  it 
be  done? 

The  late  Lord  Macaulay,  in  an  inaugural  address  delivered  in  1848 
upon  his  election  as  Rector  of  the  University  of  Glasgow,  says  that  the 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  521 

merchant  princes  of  Fl6rence  were  the  first  to  ennoble  trade  by  making 
trade  the  ally  of  philosophy,  of  eloquence  and  of  taste.  Cosmo  de  Medici 
endowed  the  first  public  library  that  modern  Europe  possessed.  And, 
singularly  enough,  htf  illustrates  that  the  influence  of  this  library  upon 
the  revival  of  learning  in  the  fifteenth  century  produced  the  revolution 
of  the  sixteenth,  and  that  a  Pope — Nicholas  V — was  the  great  scholar 
who,  under  Cosmo,  planted  its  foundation  and  secured  its  library  collec- 
tioHs,  while,  as  he  claims,  it  became  a  most  potent  agency  in  the  overthrow 
of  the  ancient  religion. 

Throughout  America,  in  all  our  older  cities,  the  merchant  princes 
of  our  greatest  houses,  it  is  noted,  become  the  legitimate  patrons  of 
letters  and  art.  In  the  absence  of  royal  founders,  what  more  princely 
disposition  can  the  great  merchant  prince  make  of  his  wealth?  He  cannot 
leave  it  entailed,  and  he  cannot  take  it  with  him.  The  Astors,  and  Law- 
rences, and  Coopers,  and  others  are  leaving  such  monuments  behind  them. 
Now,  Chicago  has  reached  that  period  when  her  merchant  princes — the 
Fairbanks,  Leiters,  Pullmans,  McCormicks,  Fields  and  many  others — 
must  regard  the  possession  of  the  wealth  accumulated,  as  charged  with 
a* duty  of  seeing  that  the  intellectual  demands  of  the  population  are  sup- 
plied. 

While  commanding  the  material  things  of  this  life,  they  cannot  suffer 
hunger  or  thirst  in  the  very  necessities  of  a  higher  culture,  any  more  than 
they  could  stand  aside  while  the  people  died,  or  were  dying  from  thirst, 
or  hunger,  from  lack  of  water  or  food.  We  cannot  be  mistaken  if  we 
say  that  the  open-handed  and  noble-minded  heads  of  the  great  houses 
of  Chicago  who  passed  through  the  great  crisis  of  1871-2,  and  rebuilt  to 
increase  their  stores  since  the  fire,  will  never  suffer  this  city  of  their  pride 
and  triumphs  to  blemish  or  lose  her  reputation  as  a  great  center  of  learn- 
ing, education  and  art. 

Let  us  rally  round  the  flag  of  the  future,  and  see  to  it  that  the  genera- 
tion in  which  we  live  shall  leave  to  posterity  memorials  such  as  may  be 
lessons  to  them  in  municipal  duty." 

Dr.  H.  W.  Thomas  said:  "I  was  talking  with  a  German  lady  out  in 
the  country  this  week,  and  she  told  me  that  she  had  landed  here  a  little 
girl  forty-nine  years  ago  with  her  parents.  She  said  there  were  a  few 
people,  the  city  was  a  marsh,  and  they  were  crossing  the  river  on  skiffs 
and  a  little  boat,  and  some  people  wanted  her  father  to  buy  property  here, 
and  he  said:  'I  did  not  come  to  this  country  to  catch  frogs,'  for  frogs  were 
plentier  than  anything  else,  and  so  he  went  out  here  to  Crown  Point  and 
bought  a  farm,  and  there  he  has  raised  his  children,  and  they  are  wealthy 
in  that  place.  But,  my  friends,  we  have  a  great  city  here,  and  we  must 
do  something,  as  the  last  speaker  has  said,  lor  this  city.  We  want  some- 
thing that  will  give  us  the  pride  of  a  city,  and  the  unity  of  citizenship  in 
the  city,  so  that  we  can  feel  that  we  are  indeed  citizens  of  no  mean  city. 

Now,  as  I  have  thought  over  this  sitting  here — for  I  was  not  one  of 
the  speakers,  but  somehow  they  have  run  me  into  ii — it  has  seemed  to  me 


522  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

that  nothing  would  do  this  so  well  as  something  that  would  be  above 
sectarianism,  and  above  party,  and  above  nationality;  something  that 
would  be  cosmopolitan,  taking  us  all  in;  something  that  would  connect 
us  in  a  generous  way  with  the  memories  of  the  past.  I  saw  the  city  burned 
down.  I  was  through  all  that  hardship.  I  was  not  burned  out,  for  I 
hadn't  anything  to  burn,  and  I  don't  believe  in  burning  out,  anyway. 
Now,  I  want  that  event  in  some  way  so  commemorated  that  it  will  unify 
us,  and  that  it  will  relate  us  in  a  grand  and  grateful  way  to  the  whole 
world,  for  there  is  no  city  on  earth  that  the  eyes  of  the  world  have  been 
upon  so  much  as  Chicago,  and  I  want  it  to  commemorate  not  so  much 
our  sorrows  as  our  triumphs,  for  that  is  the  great  thing.  We  have  risen 
above  and  we  are  greater  far  than  we  would  have  been  without  it,  because 
it  has  called  forth  our  energy.  And  I  like  it  again,  my  friends,  from  this 
fact:  I  want  to  build  monuments  to  the  good  things;  to  commemorate 
the  good  things;  to  commemorate  the  great  charities.  We  do  not  build 
monuments  to  the  memories  that  are  bad ;  to  the  deeds  that  are  bad.  We 
have  to  carry  them  sorrowfully  upon  the  pages  of  history,  but  we  do  not 
commemorate  them.  We  Want  to  commemorate  the  deeds  that  are  good; 
the  deeds  that  tell  of  the  noble  things  of  our  fellows;  the  things  that  tell 
of  the  nobility  of  our  nature,  and  now  it  seems  to  me  that  such  a  great 
building  and  library  as  we  are  contemplating  here  will  commemorate 
this  great  charity,  and  Vr ill  in  that  way  inspire  charity;  and  I  like  the 
idea  of  the  wealthy  men  doing  a  large  part  of  it.  And  I  tell  you  some- 
thing of  this  kind  will  make  people  more  generous.  What  we  want  is 
something  to  call  out  the  charity  of  the  people,  some  great  occasions; 
it  is  coming  all  over  the  country.  Why,  a  man  in  Brooklyn  the  other 
day — he  was  a  Methodist,  too — gave  a  quarter  of  a  million  dollars  just 
to  establish  a  hospital.  A  man  here-  in  Cleveland  the  other  day  gave 
half  a  million,  I  believe,  to  help  a  college,  or  something  like  that.  Great 
men!  Now  we  are  coming  to  that  era  when  men  are  going  to  pour  out 
money,  but  then  I  don't  like  the  idea  of  my  friend,  Mr.  Hoyne,  that  the 
hat  should  not  be  passed  around.  I  would  like  to  pass  it  around  here 
to-night,  but  I  won't.  You  cannot  make  this  thing  a  work  of  the  entire 
city  unless  everybody  has  something  to  do  with  it.  And  hence,  while 
we  want  wealthy  men  to  carry  the  large  load  and  do  the  great  part,. 
I  would  like  to  see  it  on  a  plan  that  everybody,  every  boy  and  girl,  would 
give  something,  and  then  they  will  feel  that  they  have  an  interest  in  it, 
and  it  will  unite  them  to  the  city  and  unite  them  one  to  the  other." 

W.  J.  Hynes  followed,  speaking  as  follows:  "I  had  expected  to  have 
the  pleasure  of  listening  to  the  eloquent  speeches  of  the  orators,  while 
sitting  in  the  rear  of  the  platform,  and  lend  my  countenance,  such  as 
there  is  of  it,  as  an  encouragement  to  this  great  enterprise.  I  had  hoped 
to  see  every  seat  in  this  hall,  and  all  the  standing-room  on  the  outside,, 
crowded  with  the  representative  citizens  of  our  great  city  to  lend  their 
encouragement  and  countenance  to  this  vast  enterprise.  I  believe  their  sym- 
pathies are  with  us.  And  whenever  Chicago  is  dead  in  earnest  in  anything 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  523 

— in  anything  great,  anything  grand,  anything  really  worthy  of  her  great 
heart — she  knows  no  such  word  as  fail. 

I  believe  that  this  building  is  intended  to  commemorate  our  great  mis- 
fortune— our  great  fire  and  the  charity  of  the  world,  the  liberality  of 
mankind  as  shown  toward  us  after  that  great  calamity.  And  while  it 
should  be  something,  as  the  last  speaker  said,  which  should  link  us  gener- 
ously to  the  past,  it  should  be  something  which  should  link  us  to  the 
ennobling  aspirations  of  the  future  for  the  cultivation  of  our  people  and 
their  elevation  to  a  higher  enlightenment.  We  may  not  rival  the  great  • 
glories  and  libraries  of  the  Old  World  in  the  masterpieces  of  the  old 
artists,  or  in  the  venerable  manuscripts  of  antiquity  which  they  contain, 
but  in  everything  that  is  attainable  to-day  of  the  gems  of  art  and  the 
untold  catalogue  of  useful  and  entertaining  literature,  Chicago  should  be 
second  to  no  city  on  the  globe.  Our  system  of  government  and  society 
is  founded  upon  the  idea  of  equality  of  all  men,  and  somebody  has  defined 
that  equality  to  mean  equality  of  opportunities.  There  can  be  no  equality 
of  opportunities  in  fact  until  learning,  and  books,  and  the  opportunities 
for  culture  and  refinement  are  as  free  as  the  air  we  breathe  and  the  water 
we  drink.  And  I  trust  the  first  care  of  the  enterprise  which  is  contem- 
plated here  to-night  will  be  to  supply  those  opportunities  to  the  working 
classes — to  give  them  open  libraries  at  night,  to  give  them  everything 
which  our  literature  affords,  to  give  them  opportunity  for  interchange 
of  thought,  for  comparison  of  ideas,  and  for  the  development  of  their 
minds,  their  characters  and  their  souls.  Of  course  it  will  be  also  a  library 
for  our  scholars,  for  our  students,  and  for  our  authors,  in  which  Chicago 
is  becoming  great;  and  I  trust,  as  has  been  suggested  by  Mr.  Hoyne, 
that  the  great  burden  of  this  great  work,  in  order  to  make  it  worthy  of 
Chicago,  will  be  borne  by  the  merchant  princes  of  our  city;  and  that  the 
suggestion  of  the  reverend  gentleman  who  preceded  me  will  also  be 
acted  upon,  and  that  every  man,  woman  and  child  of  sufficient  age  to 
appreciate  the  giving  or  to  remember  it  in  the  future,  may  have  an  oppor- 
tunity to  contribute,  and  also  that  they  may  be  proud  of  the  achievement 
which  we  are  about  to  engage  in. 

Men  have  laid  down  the  foundations  of  great  reputations  and  lasting 
fame  in  senates  and  on  battle-fields,  in  founding  cities  and  conducting 
great  works  of  engineering  and  of  literature,  but  there  is  no  consciousness 
so  ennobling,  there  is  no  enterprise  so  worthy,  there  is  no  sacrifice  so 
divine  as  giving  for  the  betterment  of  mankind  and  the  elevation  of  their 
mental  and  moral  condition.  And  believing  that  the  men  and  women 
of  Chicago  are  of  a  character  to  enjoy  such  consciousness,  to  make  such 
sacrifice,  to  engage  in  such  enterprise,  and  connect  their  names  with  the 
great  scheme  that  you  have  in  contemplation  here  to-night,  which  I 
believe  will  be  successful,  I  trust  that  they  all  may  have  an  opportunity." 

The  Reverend  Dr.  Ryder  spoke  as  follows:  "If  I  had  a  million  dol- 
lars to  bestow  upon  the  poor  of  this  city — and  I  wish  I  had — to  what 
special  uses  would  I  apply  the  gift?  As  I  answer  this  question,  I  am 


524  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

quite  certain  that  I  would  not  distribute  a  very  large  portion  of  it  among 
the  people  in  small  sums  of  money.  This  is,  in  some  respects,  a  useful 
form  of  charity,  but  it  is  also  a  harmful  form  of  charity.  To  give  to  the 
worthy  poor — and  of  these  there  are  many — is  a  satisfaction  to  any  benevo- 
lent person;  but  one  should  take  heed  upon  whom  he  bestows  money  as 
an  act  of  charity,  lest  he  thereby  put  a  premium  upon  improvidence. 

In  regard  to  benevolent  institutions,  I  would  speak  with  much  caution. 
They  are  needful,  useful — they  deserve  our  attention  and  our  support. 
Not  a  word  have  I  to  utter  against  them.  But  these  institutions,  however 
needful  and  meritorious,  are  not  intended  specially  to  reform  and  elevate 
the  people,  but  to  provide  for  the  necessities  of  the  unfortunate.  In  this 
respect  they  justly  hold  an  important  place  in  the  public  esteem. 

But  while  we  are  performing  our  duty  to  all  these  charitable  institu- 
tions, let  us  carefully  consider  what  we  can  do  in  aid  of  the  sons  and 
daughters  of  the  poor  and  for  that  large  class  of  persons  who  are  so 
greatly  dependent  upon  the  industry  and  frugality  of  others. 

The  public  sentiment  of  Chicago  needs  no  characterization.  It  is 
not  the  worst  of  any  city  in  the  land,  but  it  is  at  least  susceptible  of  being 
made  better;  it  is  what  may  be  called  a  hopeful  subject»to  work  upon. 

Now,  the  public  sentiment  of  any  community  has  a  vast  deal  to  do 
with  shaping  the  tastes  and  forming  the  habits  of  the  young — much  more 
than  is  'generally  supposed.  Arguments  influence;  appeals  benefit; 
threatened  danger  deters;  but  the  silent  voices  that  come  into  the  life  out 
of  the  very  air  we  breathe,  almost  unconsciously  and  continuously,  are 
of  all  influences  the  most  potential  in  molding  character.  Whatever, 
therefore,  can  aid  in  the  improvement  of  public  sentiment,  in  elevating 
the  tone  of  society,  and  in  opening  to  the  industrious  poor  larger  oppor- 
tunities for  growth  and  usefulness,  is  to  be  hailed  with  joy. 

I  base  my  appeal  for  the  establishment  of  such  an  institution  as  this 
meeting  contemplates,  upon  the  aid  it  will  give  to  sound  scholarship,  but 
especially  for  the  ennobling  influence  it  will  exert  upon  many  a  poor 
man's  child. 

You  are  a  friend  to  the  common  school  system  of  instruction.  So  am  I. 
But  in  order  to  render  that  system  more  effective  for  good,  the  wisdom  of 
experience  has  placed  above  that  system  the  higher  schools,  and  especially 
the  great  colleges  of  the  country.  It  is  true  but  few  persons  out  of  the 
entire  population  receive  direct  instruction  from  them.  But  large  as  is 
the  benefit  conferred  even  in  this  way,  that  is  far  from  being  the  proper 
measure  of  their  power  for  good.  For  thousands  of  young  men  out 
among  the  hills  and  upon  the  prairies — in  the  distant  homes  of  our  land — 
who  never  saw  either  Harvard,  Yale,  Brown,  Dartmouth,  or  Tufts,  and 
possibly  never  will,  are  yet  uplifted  by  these  centers  of  learning,  and  are 
stronger  and  better  for  the  influence  which  they  have  exerted  upon  them. 
The  same  is  true  of  every  instrumentality  that  addresses  the  higher 
nature  of  man. 

Now  I  do  not  expect  that  the  establishment  in  this  city  of  a  great 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  S-.S 

library  and  art  building  will  put  an  end  to  all  our  social  and  political 
troubles,  and  at  once  inaugurate  the  millennium.  But  I  do  claim  that 
such  an  enterprise  is  highly  desirable,  not  merely  as  an  aid  to  learning, 
and  a  contribution  toward  a  correct  public  taste,  but  for  the  uplifting  appeal 
which  it  will  make  to  all  classes  of  society — the  poor  as  well  as  the  rich — • 
and  for  the  incentives  to  success  which  it  will  place  at  the  very  doors  of 
nil  our  homes. 

Do  I  then  sav  that  esthetic  culture,  books,  and  the  arts  and  refine- 
ments of  cultivated  life  of  themselves  are  sufficient  to  secure  to  us  the 
higher  civilization  we  desire?  No;  emphatically  no;  all  the  libraries  and 
art  galleries  in  the  world,  if  brought  within  our  city,  would  not  produce 
this  result.  There  is  no  substitute  for  the  family,  and  none  for  the  church,, 
and  we  are  not  seeking  for  one.  These,  and  such  as  these,  are  indispensable. 
But  esthetic  taste  is  certainly  not  antagonistic  to  these  higher  interests — 
does  not  array  itself  against  them ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  occupies  a  place 
in  the  broad  education  of  humanity  which  neither  of  these  can  fill. 

All  hail,  then,  to  this  new  enterprise.  It  is  no  man's  enemy,  but 
every  man's  friend.  It  will  work  for  good  in  your  lifetime;  and  long 
after  we  are  dead  it  will  still  reach  out  its  helpful  hand  to  the  humblest 
citizen  of  this  great  city  and  bid  him  accept  the  kindly  aid  which  it  so 
generously  offers." 

Franklin  MacVeagh  made  the  following  remarks :  "To  commemorate 
the  flood  of  generous  sentiment  and  practical  charity  of  1871  is  certainly 
well.  We  should  not,  in  doing  this,  be  commemorating  simply  the 
world's  kindness  to  Chicago.  We  should  be  doing  honor  as  well  to 
a  phenomenal  phase  of  human  nature.  Not  only  was  Chicago  astonished 
at  the  world;  the  world  was  astonished  at  itself.  Steam,  the  telegraph,, 
and  the  modern  news  system — those  greatest  instrumentalities  of  the  self- 
seeking  side  of  modern  life — were  quickly  turned  to  the  use  of  charity^ 
that  charity  might  become,  for  once  in  all  time,  instantaneous  and  universal. 
And  so  the  marvelous  generosity  of  mankind,  its  massive  tenderness  and 
gentleness,  as  never  before  in  history,  stood  fairly  revealed.  And  the 
stern  justice  of  its  law,  the  keen  selfishness  of  its  commerce,  and  the  dread 
horrors  of  its  wars,  were  reinterpreted  and  softened  in  the  light  of  the 
world's  good  will.  Such  a  phenomenon  is  worthy  of  commemoration 
certainly.  We  of  Chicago  are  those  who  are  entitled,  we  are  those  who 
are  obliged  to  do  it  honor.  Let  us  say  that  it  shall  be  done. 

Nor  do  I  think  that  Chicago  will  be  blamed  if,  thinking  always  first 
of  the  kindness  she  received,  she  thinks  afterward  of  her  own  conduct  in 
her  great  emergency.  What  the  world  did  and  what  Chicago  did  are 
bound  up  together.  The  generosity  of  the  one,  the  pluck  and  manliness 
of  the  other.  The  wounds  of  the  great  fire  are  healed;  but  they  once 
were  fresh  and  terrible;  and  it  shall  forever  be  the  great  distinction  of 
this  city  of  unique  future  that  she  was  tried  by  fire  and  was  not  found 
wanting.  Her  accumulations  were  swept  away,  her  homes  were  destroyed, 
her  commercial  position  and  her  future  were  imperiled;  but  she  did  not 


526  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

fear,  she  did  not  even  sigh,  and  she  neither  hesitated  nor  delayed.  In  all 
the  future  of  our  gi'eat  city  let  the  smaller  Chicago  of  1871  be  forever 
remembered  with  respect.  Whatever  her  crudities  and  faults  she  estab- 
lished her  claim  to  the  respect  of  her  posterity  by  her  integrity  and  by 
her  courage. 

One  thing  more.  Objections  have  been  made  to  such  demonstrations 
upon  October  ninth  as  would  seem  to  celebrate  Chicago's  disaster.  Those 
objections  were,  it  seems  to  me,  well  taken.  But  they  suggest  to  me  to 
say  that  it  would  be  a  misfortune  if  we  should  so  far  forget  the  somber 
side  of  the  great  fire  as  to  lose  the  benefits  of  its  grave  lessons.  This 
hopeful  people  had  to  be  retaught  by  the  fire  of  July,*  1874,  before  a 
single  lesson  of  the  great  fire  was  really  learned,  and  even  now-a-days 
we  hear  and  see  things  touching  fire  protection  which  dispute  all  the  sad 
experience  of  our  city.  I  was  here  on  the  night  of  that  terrible  ninth 
of  October.  I  as  little  as  any  other  citizen  am  willing  to  constantly  dwell 
upon  the  horror  of  the  havoc  of  that  night.  Rather  let  us  hope  that 
ferocious  drama  was  acted  once  for  all;  that  the  wild  glare  and  fierce 
heat  are  never  to  return;  that  the  relentless  inarch  of  that  battle-front  of 
fire  across  our  warehouses  and  homes  is  never  to  be  repeated;  that  we 
shall  not  again,  homeless  and  with  broken  fortunes,  stand  face  to  face 
with  a  calamity  so  pitiless  and  colossal  that  to  have  looked  upon  it  with 
calmness  and  with  spirit  has  made  the  best  fame  of  our  city!  But  let  us 
never  forget  that  our  protection  against  a  recurrence  is  in  our  own  hands. 
To  refuse,  fellow  citizens,  to  provide  that  protection  by  good  laws  and 
earnest  administration,  by  the  expenditure  of  necessary  money,  and  by 
the  subordination  of  less  important  considerations  to  that  consideration 
born  of  our  great  distress,  is  to  challenge  the  reality  of  our  boasted  civil- 
ization and  to  do  as  those  animals  do  which,  liberated  from  a  burning 
building,  rush  back  from  the  free  air  to  perish  in  the  flames. 

And  now,  how  can  we  better  or  more  permanently  commemorate 
the  charity  of  the  great  world — how  better  than  associate  with  it  the 
recollection  of  the  courage  and  manhood  of  our  city;  how  better  establish 
a  lasting  monitor  instinct  with  wise  precautions  than  by  erecting  and 
dedicating  this  building  for  a  library  and  a  museum?  How  could  we 
supply  a  more  pressing  or  a  higher  need  of  our  population?  How  could 
we  better  add  to  the  metropolitan  equipment  of  the  city?  How  could  we 
more  honor  Chicago  than  by  placing  it  anew  in  line  with  the  great  cities 
of  .the  world  by  erecting  homes  for  these  two  great  institutions  of  culture? 

Let  the  building  be  built,  and  built  worthily  and  dedicated  worthily, 
and  let  it  be  the  building  of  the  people  and  the  expression  of  the  people's 
thought.  Let  the  fund  grow  from  wide-spread  contribution,  so  that  these 
treasures  may  be  the  treasures  of  the  whole  people  and  the  commemora- 
tion be  commemoration  by  us  all. 

It  will  be  a  spectacle  worthy  of  this  great  young  community;  and 
one  that  will  not  tend  to  disappoint  the  expectations  of  the  world  when 
Chicago,  ten  years  after  her  great  calamity,  mindful  of  the  past  and 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  527 

grateful — alive,  withal,  to  the  best  ideals  and  inspirations  of  our  time, 
shall  seek  an  expression  of  her  sentiment  in  doing  high  honor  to  litera- 
ture and  art." 

Emery  A.  Storrs  spoke  as  follows:  "The  time  has  passed  when  the 
city  of  Chicago  can  plead  infancy,  business  pursuits,  or  press  of  other 
business  engagements  as  a  defense  for  the  total  neglect  of  anything  that 
looks  in  the  direction  of  intellectual  culture.  I  am  tired  of  the  uniformity 
of  its  brag.  I  am  tired  of  hearing  the  same  thing  bragged  about  all  the 
time.  I  am  tired  of  being  continually  reminded  of  the  vastness  of  the  Stock 
Yards,  of  the  extent  of  the  grain  trade,  of  the  magnitude  of  our  lumber 
interests,  and  o£  the  enormous  development  of  the  pork  trade  in  this  great 
commercial  metropolis.  I  want  less  of  steers  and  less  of  pork,  and  more 
of  culture.  I  am  in  favor  of  the  steers  and  the  pork,  but  I  believe  that 
out  of  them  both,  and  out  of  that  raw,  crude  energy  which  has  builded 
upon  the  shores  of  this  splendid  inland  sea  a  city  the  marvel  of  the  world 
there  shall  grow  a  culture  as  grand,  as  magnificent  as  that  great  material 
and  physical  prosperity  has  heretofore  been. 

I  am  in  favor  of  this  splendid  scheme,  not  because  I  think  it  will  pay. 
I  am  tired  of  having  literature  and  dividends  march  hand  in  hand.  I  want 
Chicago  to  rise  to  that  eminence  where  it  can  do  something  that  won't 
pay;  won't  pay  in  any  pecuniary  sense,  but  will  pay  in  the  larger,  and 
broader,  and  grander,  'and  better  sense.  I  want  Chicago  to  be  as  dis- 
tinguished for  its  intellectual  achievements,  for  the  culture  of  its  men  and 
women,  as  it  has  been  for  its  merely  material  and  physical  achievements. 

We  have  not  been  making  cultured  men  and  women  here,  but  we 
have  been  preparing  for  forty  years,  material  for  the  grandest  culture 
which  this  continent  has  ever  witnessed.  The  polish  grinds  away  the 
crudeness  of  the  marble,  and  brings  to  the  surface  its  inherent  splendor, 
but  you  must  have  the  marble  to  make  the  polish  effective.  No  amount 
of  polish  nor  attrition  that  you  may  place  upon  the  rotten  stone  will 
achieve  anything  except  the  useless  consumption  of  the  polish  and  a  waste 
of  the  material.  We  have  been  preparing  a  tough  fiber,  big,  hearty, 
broad-browed,  lofty-purposed  material  here,  to-day  a  little  rough  and 
crude  in  its  exterior,  but,  when  the  polish  is  applied,  there  will  come  to 
the  surface  the  inherent  beauties  that  will  shine  like  the  planet,  and  make 
the  name  of  Chicago  famous  all  around  the  globe.  Books  will  do  this. 
Art  will  do  this.  Great  public  libraries  will  do  this,  and  Chicago  can 
make  no  more  fitting  memorial  of  the  charities  of  the  world  than  a  great 
building  that  shall  face  the  sun  on  the  shores  of  this  inland  sea,  the  shining 
dome  of  which  shall  greet  it  morning  after  morning,  and  shall  salute  the 
setting  sun  good  night  for  all  the  ages  to  come,  and  in  which  shall  be 
stored  the  best  works,  the  best  thoughts  and  the  best  pictures  of  the 
world.  This  will  commemorate  the  glory  of  Chicago. 

I  have  said  that  I  believe  in  the  culture  of  this  city;  in  its  great 
intellectual  growth  and  development.  I  know  what  Chicago  can  do. 
I  protest  against  the  merchant  princes  having  all  the  credit  of  this  splen- 


£528  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

•  it  \'v 

did  enterprise.  I  protest  against  the  business  men  absorbing  it  all.  It  is 
to  their  honor  if  they  desire  to  do  it.  I  am  not  a  business1  riinn^  rfor  is  Dr.s 
Thomas,  nor  Professor  Swing,  but  I  insist  upon  it  that  if  a  shining  record 
is  to  be  kept,  our  names  with  our  little  subscriptions  shalll  go  down  to 
posterity,  and  when  the  achievements,  political  and  otherwise,  of  the  best' 
Mayor  that  Chicago  ever  had  have  passed  from  human  record,  it  will  be 
preserved  to  his  credit  that  he  presided  here  to-night.  Suppose,  my  fel-' 
low  citizens,  that  a  list  of  the  contributors  for  the  erection  of  the  Parthenon" 
had  been  preserved!  What  makes  a  city  renowned?  It  is  not  pork.  It 
is  not  trade.  It  is  not:  its  heaped-up  wealth.  It  is  its1  men.  The  men- 

who  contributed  to  the  Parthenon  have  died  out  of  human  records   two' 

• 

thousand  three  hundred  years  ago.  Phidias  remains,  the  man  who' 
adorned  it.  Athens  you  can  place  in  your  original  Congressional  district,' 
but  the  names  of  Socrates,  and  Solon,  and  Plato,  and  Leonidas,'  anxh 
Phidias,  and  Praxiteles  will  make  Athens  famous  forever,  make  Athens 
endure  in  history,  tradition,  and  honor  until  the 'latest  period  of  recorded 
time. 

Loving  this  splendid  city,  grand  in  its  triumphs  and  colossal  in  its 
calamities,  never  doing  anything  by  halves,  I  wish 'to  see  the  streaming 
line  of  cultured' men  carrying  its  name  and  dts  fame  down  through  all  the 
generations.  That  only  will  preserve  it.  And  when  I  consider  the  occa- 
sion for  which  we  have  met  to-night;  when  I  look  past  these  busy, 
tumultuous,  throbbing  years  that  take  us  to  that  fearful  calamity;  when 
I  see  the  city  of  my  soul  in  ashes  as  she  sat  there  robed  in  the  sackcloth, 
and  in  the  ashes  of  her  desolation,  when  there  were  poured  into  her  lap 
from  all  the  world  millions  and  millions  of  benefactions,  when  I  saw  the 
splendid  energy  of  her  men  rising  like  a  new  spirit,  and  before  the  smoke 
of  the  terrible  conflagration  was  from  their  garments  rearing  on  the 
snores  of  this  lake  a  city  which  challenges  the  wonder  and  admiration 
of  the  world,  I  would  build  a  memorial  commensurate  with  the  grandeur 
of  the  occasion  which  it  celebrates,  worthy  of  the  future  of  this  gi'eat 
city,  where  books  and  art  shall  find  a  fitting  temple  and  a  fitting  home. 
Martin  Luther  said:  'Every  great  action  is  a  book,  and  every  great  book 
is  an  action,'  and  so  I  would  like  to  see  in  some  magnificent  temple,  all 
the  great  actions  of  all  the  times  past  gathered  together,  and  every  man 
a  contributor,  and  going  down  through  the  times  to  come  with  the  roar- 
ing of  trade  and  throbbing  of  machinery,  with  the  triumphant  song  of 
cultured  men  and  women,  with  the  banner  of  trade  made  glorious  by  the 
whiter  light  of  science.  This  we  can  do.  The  details  men  of  business 
will  settle.  The  pride  of  Chicago  demands  it.  The  honor  of  the  city 
exacts  it.  We  all  know  it.  And  to  this  great  enterprise,  thus  splendidly 
inaugurated,  every  one  bids  prosperity  and  Godspeed." 

The  Reverend  Dr.  Lorimer,  the  next  speaker,  addressed  the  audience 
as  follows:  "When  the  fury  of  fire  desolated  the  fair  city  of  Chicago, 
I  was  a  resident  in  the  old  Puritan  city  of  Boston.  I  remember  well  the 
excitement  that  followed  the  announcement  of  the  fire,  the  meetings  that 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  529 

were  held  promptly  in  that  city,  and  the  earnest,  practical  sympathy 
that  was  expressed  by  the  people  there.  For,  however  stei'n  and  rugged 
old  Boston's  coast  may  he,  she  has  a  tender  heart  in  her  breast  for  all 
people  who  are  in  distress.  I  remember,  however,  of  the  time  while  we 
were  seeking  to  do  our  best  to  aid  you  in  your  terrible  calamity  that  our 
sorrow  was  mingled  with  appreciation  of  your  energy,  of  your  earnestness, 
of  your  zeal  and  manly  courage,  when  you  determined  to  go  forward 
and  restore  the  city. 

I  had  little  expectation  in  those  days  of  ever  living  here  among  you, 
but  I  am  one  of  this  great  city,  and  it  affords  me  great  pleasure  to  be  present 
this  evening  at  this  meeting,  and  to  pledge  you  my  hearty  co-operation,  in 
building  not  the  memorial  Chicago,  for  that  is  in  other  hands,  but  to  pledge 
you  my  co-operation  in  connection  with  these  gentlemen  and  all  these  friends 
present,  in  upbuilding  the  future  intellectual  and  moral  Chicago,  which  I 
believe,  with  Mr.  Storrs,  shall  be  yet  the  brightest  and  the  purest  and  the 
best  that  the  world  has  ever  seen.  In  Luxembourg  gallery  there  is  a  famous 
picture  representing  the  decline  of  the  Roman  Empire,  I  believe,  by 
Coupee.  The  picture  is  allegorical.  It  presents  to  the  beholder  an  old 
Roman  temple,  and  in  this  temple  are  gathered  men  and  women  carousing. 
A  little  lad  is  holding  a  goblet  of  wine  to  the  lips  of  one  of  the  old  gods, 
and  around  the  room  there  are  stern  images  of  the  men  of  former  times, 
when  to  be  a  Roman  was  to  be  a  king;  and  retreating  from  the  room 
a  few  individuals  with  downcast  looks,  evidently  ashamed  of  tht»  degen- 
eracy, of  the  effeminacy,  riot,  and  corruption  apparent.  The  intellectual 
life  of  Rome  was  going  out.  Her  moral  strength  had  departed,  and  all 
that  remained  was  not  worth  counting  or  enumerating.  And,  as  has  been 
said  to-night  by  several  of  these  gentlemen,  a  city's  grandeur  and  a  city's 
strength  depend  upon  its  moral  and  its  intellectual  life,  and  I  feel  like 
pleading  to  you  and  urging  all  citizens  of  Chicago  to  work  together  for 
the  purpose  of  placing  this  city  in  a  position  where  no  such  sad  record  as 
that  v.  hich  the  painter  has  put  upon  the  canvas  shall  be  made  of  us  by 
our  posterity.  Intellectual  life,  moral  life,  the  true  powers  that  make  or 
that  build  up  cities  can,  I  have  no  doubt,  be  forwarded  largely  by  the 
enterprise  which  you  contemplate. 

I  do  desire  to  see  built  in  this  city  such  a  building  as  has  been 
described,  with  books,  with  galleries,  with  all  the  necessary  arrangements 
for  supplying  the  people  with  the  means  for  personal  culture;  and  I  be- 
lieve, moreover,  that  this  good  city  of  Chicago  ought  to  be  the  brightest, 
the  grandest,  and  strongest  city  of  learning  upon  this  continent;  that 
here,  in  addition  to  this  public  building  that  you  contemplate  rearing, 
there  should  be  a  university  whose  name  should  be  world-wide,  and  to 
graduate  from  whose  halls  would  be  a  diploma  to  the  highest  circles 
of  scholarship  anywhere.  Think  not  your  obligation  will  end  with 
merely  erecting  this  library  and  this  gallery. 

I  had  intended  to  call  attention  to  two  thoughts,  and  will  do  so  very 
briefly.  The  importance  of  seeking  to  emancipate  ourselves  from  the 


530  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

materialistic  tendency  of  our  times.  This  tendency  is  not  alone  felt  here, 
it  is  felt  throughout  the  entire  world.  To  lift  ourselves  above  it  requires 
the  facilities  that  you  are  proposing  to  provide.  In  addition  to  the  deliver- 
ing of  ourselves  from  materialistic  tendencies,  there  is  a  very  important 
work  that  must  be  done — not  simply  the  unifying,  as  Dr.  Thomas  has 
said,  of  the  citizens  of  Chicago,  but  the  unifying  of  the  various  classes 
which  compose  a  city.  We  cannot  ignore  the  fact  that  the  drift  and  rush 
of  our  times  have  created  a  chasm  between  capital  and  labor,  and  that, 
like  two  armed  camps,  they  look  askance  of  each  other  to-day.  But 
when  capital  steps  forward  with  its  hundreds  of  thousands  and  says  to 
the  laboring  man:  'We  consecrate  this  money  to  your  good,  for  your 
elevation,  and  for  your  progress,'  the  strife  will  grow  less  bitter,  the  war- 
fare less  fierce,  and  these  classes  will  be  more  apt  to  come  together  in 
true  brotherhood  than  they  would  under  other  circumstances. 

I  do  feel  an  intense  and  an  abiding  interest  in  the  laboring  men — in 
the  poorer  classes  of  a  great  city.  I  have  been  a  poor  man — I  am  not 
much  better  now,  and  I  don't  suppose  I  ever  shall  be — and  I  know  what 
it  is  to  struggle,  and  strive,  and  toil  to  obtain  a  few  dollars  wherewith  to 
provide  food,  not  merely  for  the  body,  but  food  for  that  which  is  more 
unconscionable— food  for  the  brain,  food  for  the  thought;  that  I  might 
be  lifted  up  out  of  the  surroundings  to  which  I  seemed  bound  and  destined. 
And  so  my  heart  beats  in  sympathy  with  the  millions,  and  I  had  rather 
err  wit^i  them  than  be  right  with  those  who  have  everything  at  their 
disposal  and  everything  that  wealth  and  luxury  can  procure.  And  so 
I  ask  that  we  shall,  in  making  these  arrangements  and  providing  this 
building,  keep  the  thought  conspicuous  that  we  are  seeking  to  unify  all 
classes,  to  bring  into  harmony  all  orders  and  ranks  of  society,  and  to  place 
upon  a  proper  and  equal  footing  the  man  who  works  with  his  hands  and 
the  man  who  works  with  his  brain. 

I  am  familiar  with  many  monuments.  I  have  traversed  the  Old 
World  time  after  time.  I  have  looked  on  the  glories  of  the  Alhambra. 
I  have  visited  the  palaces  and  also  the  sacred  places  of  Europe.  I  have 
studied  them,  and  I  have  made  friends  of  them,  but  in  all  my  travels 
I  have  never  found  one  monument  yet  reared  to  charity — not  one.  It  is 
recorded  in  an  obscure  English  book  that  a  Christian  woman  refused  to 
surrender  a  poor  refugee  that  had  sought  protection  beneath  her  roof,  and, 
on  that  account,  was  doomed  to  the  stake,  and  when  she  was  going  for- 
ward to  her  martyrdom  she  said:  'Some  men  and  women  have  died 
for  their  faith.  I  am  to  die  for  charity,  and  willingly  I  surrender  up  my 
life.'  No  monument  that  I  can  recall  in  all  of  my  readings  and  journey - 
ings — not  a  single  obelisk,  not  a  single  building  or  gallery — is  consecrated 
to  the  commemoration  of  charity. 

That  which  the  world  has  not  yet  seen  shall  be  seen  on  our  lake 
front.  We  will  rear  it,  we  will  endow  it,  we  will  place  in  it  works  of  art, 
books,  everything  that  can  enrich  the  human  mind,  and  when  the  comina 
generations  shall  visit  the  spacious  and  magnificent  edifice,  and  shall 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  531 

inquire  to  what  was  this  reared  and  for  what,  the  guardian  shall  explain 
to  them :  'This  building  was  reared  by  thankful  hearts,  by  loving  arms, 
throughout  a  prostrate  city  who  responded  with  their  thankfulness  and 
gratitude  to  a  world-wide  generosity.  This  building  was  reared  to, 
and  forever  is  to  be  consecrated  to  charity — the  world's  charity,  the  charity 
that  came  from  heaven  and  spoke  through  human  lips  in  Galilee,  and 
which  burst  forth  in  the  glorious  consummation  in  1871,  when  men  sent 
*  of  their  abundance  to  succor  the  poor  and  needy.'" 

Mr.  E.  G.  Mason  spoke  as  follows:  "It  is  well  that  the  people  of 
Chicago  assemble  to-night  to  carry  into  effect  the  purpose  which  is  in  all 
their  hearts.  Less  than  ten  years  ago  our  city  vanished  in  a  storm  of  fire; 
but,  while  the  skies  were  still  red,  there  came  to  its  stricken  people  from 
the  whole  wide  world  the  boundless  aid,  the  priceless  sympathy,  which 
alone  rendered  the  calamity  endurable.  And  now  that  its  scars  are  well 
nigh  effaced;  now  that  our  city  has  been  builded  again,  and  more  beauti- 
ful than  before;  now  that  prosperity  has  returned,  we  all  of  us  feel  that 
the  time  has  come  to  commemorate  in  the  way  which  shall  be  most  fitting 
that  memorable  period  in  our  history. 

It  is  no  new  thing  to  mark  such  an  occurrence  by  an  enduring 
memorial.  Just  two  hundred  years  ago  was  completed  the  lofty  monu- 
ment which  still  lifts  its  tall  head  above  the  crowded  roofs  of  London  to 
tell  for  all  time,  it  may  be,  the  story  of  the  terrible  conflagration  which 
laid  that  metropolis  in  ashes.  That  column  was  erected  only  as  a  memento 
of  the  destruction  of  a  city  by  fire.  But  our  project  enshrines  a  better 
thought  and  has  a  higher  purpose.  For  we  propose  to  signalize  not 
merely  a  material  calamity,  however  great,  but  especially  and  peculiarly 
the  matchless  humanity  which  its  occurrence  revealed.  We  intend  to 
preserve  the  remembrance,  not  simply  of  the  loss,  but  above  all  of  the 
wondrous  kindliness  and  munificence  which  took  away  the  sense  of  loss. 

Other  famous  monuments  the  world  has  had  in  all  ages.  On  the 
Plain  of  Marathon,  for  twenty  centuries  and  more,  the  mound  which 
Athens  raised  has  marked  the  graves  of  'the  brave  and  fallen  few'  who 
withstood  the  many  there  for  their  country's  sake;  in  the  Pass  of  Ther- 
mopylae the  memorial  tablet  long  told  the  passer-by  of  the  three  hundred 
who  died  for  love  of  Sparta;  the  Lion  of  Lucerne  treasures  the  memories 
of  the  faithful  Swiss  guards  who  were  true  to  their  oaths  and  gave  their 
lives  for  the  monarch  whom  they  could  not  save;  and  on  Cemetery  Hill 
at  Gettysburg,  'keeping  guard  over  the  bivouac  of  the  dead,'  stands  the 
statue  of  the  gallant  General  Reynolds,  who  led  the  van  for  the  Union 
in  that  Titanic  contest,  and  fell  in  the  very  forefront  of  the  battle.  These 
and  such  as  these  are  noble  monuments.  Can  we  build  here  a  nobler 
one?  Yes!  oh  yes!  For  these  tell  of  the  fidelity  and  the  courage,  which 
were  superlatively  manly,  but  the  unselfishness  and  the  tenderness 
which  we  wish  to  commemorate  were  divine.  These  speak  of  'battles 
and  the  breath  of  stormy  war  and  violent  death,'  but  our  monument  shall 
speak  of  peace  and  brotherhood,  of  the  electric  flash  of  sympathy  which 


532  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

made  the  whole  world  kin  with  us,  and  of  the  Godlike  spirit  which  brought 
even  from  far-off  lands  and  the  islands  of  the  sea  cheer  and  comfort  in 
the  time  of  our  sorest  need.  And  as  the  years  roll  on,  the  victories  of 
which  it  testifies  will  be  more  'renowned  than  those  of  war.'  And  this 
as  Well,  because  we  intend  it  to  be  not  merely  a  monument  pure  and 
simple,  the  only  use  of  which  would  lie  in  its  associations,  but  a  monu- 
mental structure  which  shall  be  a  home  for  literature  and  art  for  generations 
to  come;  a  fire  memorial  indeed,  but  builded  of  books  and  adorned  with 
pictures. 

And  so  those  terrible  October  days,  which  in  our  calendars  will  ever 
be  printed  in  characters  of  flame,  and  the  world's  response  to  the  havoc 
which  they  wrought  shall  be  commemorated,  not  by  the  pageant  of  a  day 
gone  like  a  breath,  not  by  any  unseemly  festivity,  all  unmeet  for  such  an 
event,  but  by  a  stately  library  and  gallery  of  art  which  shall  be  to  this 
community  a  blessing  forevermore." 

Professor  Swing  said :  "There  is  perhaps  only  one  city  in  the  world 
having  a  population  of  a  half  million,  along  whose  streets  no  traveler  or 
citizen  can  find  a  single  structure  built  by  local  benevolence.  Chicago 
has  the  honor  of  being  that  city.  Without  a  rival  in  the  grain  trade, 
and  lumber  trade,  and  meat  market,  it  is  without  a  rival  in  its  contempt 
of  the  arts.  There  is  a  village  in  Michigan  having  a  population  of  four 
thousand  five  hundred — Coldwater — in  which  village  there  is  a  better 
gallery  of  painting  and  statuary  than  there  can  now  be  found  in  this 
city.  This  building  was  erected  and  filled  with  attractive  pictures  and 
statuary  at  the  expense  of  one  citizen.  Each  Saturday  it  is  warmed  up 
comfortably  for  the  public.  It  cost  in  all  perhaps  seventy-five  thousand 
dollars.  Chicago  cannot  equal  it  or  even  approach  it.  If  the  purpose 
of  this  meeting  to-night  fails,  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  railroads  will  issue 
cheap  tickets  so  that  all  lovers  of  pretty  things  may  once  a  year  make 
a  trip  into  the  interior  of  Michigan. 

The  only  valid  excuse  for  Chicago's  coldness  toward  libraries  and 
art  is  that  it  did  not  wish  to  act  before  it  was  ready  to  act  well.  We  are 
all  ashamed  to  say  that  the  city  is  too  young,  has  been  too  unfortunate, 
had  to  build  itself  upon  a  marsh,  had  to  wait  for  the  generation  of  toilers 
and  adventurers  to  die  and  for  a  generation  of  readers  and  thinkers  and 
cultivated  hearts  to  come.  What  force  such  arguments  once  had  has 
passed  away,  for  the  swamp  has  been  filled  up,  the  calamity  of  fire  has  been 
passed  by,  the  second  generation  so  waited  for  has  come,  and  could  it 
paint  its  own  portrait,  the  picture  would  surpass  the  dream  of  the  most 
sanguine  of  our  ancestors.  No  excuse  remains  except  that  Chicago  did 
not  wish  to  think  of  library  or  gallery  until  it  could  think  and  act  largely. 
If  this  has  of  late  been  the  secret  motive  of  such  an  inaction  in  so  impor- 
tant a  direction,  we  shall  all  hasten  to  forgive  our  loitering  public.  The 
time  for  excuses  has  altogether  gone  by,  and  the  city  as  an  apologist  for 
indolence  is  in  the  situation  of  that  cadet  who  had  asked  many  times 
for  a  week's  absence  on  account  of  the  last  illness  of  his  grandmother. 

O 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  533 

He  was  excused  at  last  with  this  warning:  'You  may  go,  sir;  but  if  your 
grandmother  is  not  dead  in  five  days  I  will  put  you  in  the  guard-house 
for  a  month.' 

The  opportunity  has  now  come  for  erecting  an  edifice  that  shall  have 
several  noble  reasons  of  existence.  All  public  buildings  should  stand  not 
upon  a  foundation  of  rock  only,  but  upon  a  good  foundation  of  reason. 
Three  great  motives  have  brought  you  hither  to-night.  Three  motives 
impel  us  who  speak,  and  three  motives,  or  desires,  or  hopes  are  in  the 
hearts  of  all  our  citizens  in  these  days — that  there  should  be  a  library 
building;  that  there  should  be  an  art  building,  and  that  this  great  city 
should  confess  in  some  work  that  would  be  perpetual  that  charity  of  the 
world  which  pitied  us  in  the  day  of  calamity.  By  means  of  a  public 
library  and  art  building  we  would  render  visible  and  admirable  the 
greatest  act  of  charity  the  world  ever  saw.  Upon  such  foundations — 
literature,  art  and  charity — a  structure  ought  to  arise  and  arise  easily  and 
grandly.  As  there  is  nothing  small  in  these  three  motives,  there  should 
be  nothing  small  in  the  planning  of  this  enterprise. 

In  India  there  is  a  single  tomb  which  cost  fifty  millions  of  dollars. 
It  was  built  by  a  Prince  who  had  money,  but  who  had  no  great  outlook 
over  the  needs  of  society.  He  knew  nothing  of  libraries,  or  galleries,  or 
lecture-rooms,  or  opera-houses,  and  from  his  poverty  of  motives  his  for- 
tune went  into  a  mausoleum.  The  civilization  of  this  Western  hemisphere 
takes  a  wider  survey  of  man  and  teaches  better  application  of  money. 
In  Cleveland  one  citizen  gave  only  a  few  days  ago  five  hundred  thousand 
dollars  to  a  classic  college;  in  the  same  city  another  citizen  had  by  a  few 
months  preceded  this  gift  with  an  almost  equal  donation.  Cincinnati 
can  point  to  a  monument  of  nobleness  in  its  Music  and  Exposition  Build- 
ings. On  all  sides  we  see  money  going  from  the  individual  to  the 
multitude  by  acts  of  simple  love  for  man.  To  the  ordinary  motives 
which  move  benevolent  hearts  Chicago  adds  a  motive  elsewhere  unknown. 
Chicago  owes  the  world  a  debt' of  gratitude.  When  she  lay  in  ashes  the 
civilized  nations  reached  out  the  hand  of  brothers  and  helped  the  pros- 
trate town.  To  confess  such  a  world-wide  kindness  should  not  be  the 
duty  of  our  city,  but  its  happiness.  A  building  should  arise  in  the  name 
of  the  world's  charity.  It  should  contain  a  tablet  or  a  window  in  memory 
of  the  goodness  of  each  nation — some  memento  of  England,  some 
memento  of  France,  of  Russia,  of  Germany,  of  China.  We  should  all 
rejoice  to  contribute  money  to  an  object  so  full  of  the  highest  merit." 

James  Lane  Allen  said:  "  I  am  profoundly  grateful  to  you  for  this 
evidence  of  your  kindness.  To  be  in  the  slightest,  even  suggester  of  .that 
which  is  good  to  one's  race  is,  I  am  sure,  an  honor  which  any  one  might 
covet;  and  that  I  have  been  simply  an  humble  instrument  of  suggesting 
to  this  great,  broad-minded,  large-handed,  big-hearted  people  of  Chicago 
the  way  in  which  properly  to  commemorate  the  tenth  anniversary  of  the 
oreat  fire  I  am  profoundly  thankful.  I  don't  intend  to  make  a  speech. 
I  assure  you  this  calling  of  myself  before  you  was  entirely  unexpected 


534  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

on  my  part,  but  I  wish  to  say  just  one  thing  that  comes  to  my  mind  now, 
and  that  is  a  thought  that  has  often  dwelt  there.  I  think  that  he  lives 
longest  who  loves  most,  and  therefore  the  more  love  in  our  hearts  toward 
our  fellows,  the  longer  will  we  live  in  their  memories.  I  am  sure  that 
this  meeting  is  but  a  harbinger  of  the  success  which  will  crown  the  sug- 
gestion  which  I  have  made  to  you,  and  I  am  sure  that  the  grandest  tablet 
that  could  be  placed  upon  the  front  of  the  building  would  be  that  every 
man,  woman,  yea,  and  every  child  of  this  great  city  who  was  able  to 
write  his  or  her  name  upon  the  subscription  books  for  this  noble  purpose 
had  done  so,  and  that  all  future  generations  will  say  that  this  building  was 
reared  by  the  men,  women  and  children  of  Chicago  as  a  memorial  of 
their  gratitude  for  the  wonderful  and  unparalleled  generosity  to  them  in 
their  time  of  deep  distress." 

D.  L.  Shorey  spoke  as  follows:  "The  free  public  library  is  the  crea- 
tion of  the  nineteenth  century.  It  has  not  as  yet  been  universally  adopted. 
It  is  found  only  in  those  States  and  nations  which  tolerate  the  largest 
liberty,  and  preserve  for  the  people  the  greatest  extension  of  privilege. 
The  State  of  New  Hampshire  in  1849  had  the  honor  of  enacting  the  first 
general  statute  .authorizing  towns  to  establish  and  maintain  public  libraries. 
In  the  previous  year  Massachusetts  authorized  the  establishment  of  the 
Boston  Public  Library,  and  in  1850  extended  the  authority  to  all  the  towns 
in  the  State.  The  Boston  Library  was  the  first  to  be  established,  and  it 
is  to-day  by  far  the  best  free  public  library  in  the  world.  Great  Britain 
and  her  colonies  immediately  followed  the  example  of  Massachusetts; 
and  the  free  public  library  is  now  recognized  throughout  the  lines  of  the 
liberty-loving  English-speaking  race  in  both  hemispheres.  It  was  no 
accident  when  our  city  was  in  desolation  that  our  English  friends  sent  to 
us  the  finest  token  of  sympathy  in  books  for  the  beginning  of  a  library. 

The  principle  upon  which  public  libraries  are  supported  had  been 
acknowledged  in  New  England  for  two  hundred  years,  and  the  fathers 
of  the  Republic  founded  it  in  the  full  conviction  that  the  experim%nt 
would  be  a  failure  unless  it  should  rest  upon  the  broad  basis  of  intelli- 
gence widely  diffused  among  £he  masses.  Ignorance  brings  with  it  a  horrid 
brood  of  furies  against  which  intelligence  alone  is  the  one  sure  antagonist. 
Governments  exercise  those  functions  which  are  necessary  for  the  general 
welfare,  and  which  cannot  safely  be  left  wholly  to  private  enterprise. 
Who  does  not  feel  safer  in  his  person  and  in  possessions  with  the  knowl- 
edge that  the  children  of  the  entire  people  are  coming  onto  the  stage  of 
active  life  with  the  life- long  opportunities  which  the  public  schools  and 
libraries  afford  for  raising  the  whole  grade  of  intelligence  throughout 
the  community? 

In  a  commercial  community,  where  magnificent  prizes  await  the 
successful  organizer  of  business,  there  is  sometimes  a  tendency  to  ignore 
the  higher  agencies  of  civilization  which  alone  make  a  people  great  and 
worthy  of  commemoration.  This  meeting  is  one  of  manv  pledges  that 
Chicago  does  not  mean  to  neglect  the  refining  and  ennobling  influences 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  535 

of  art,  literature  and  learning.  This  meeting  was  called  to  give  an  added 
impulse  to  a  movement  that  was  begun  before  the  fii'e  of  1871.  That 
movement  gained  force  from  the  calamity  in  which  so  many  books  and 
works  of  art  were  destroyed,  and  which  made  manifest  the  necessity  of 
immediate  action  to  replace  the  lost  treasure?.  Our  library  was  then 
organized  with  the  greatest  unanimity  of  opinion.  It  has  steadily  gained 
in  the  public  estimation.  It  deserves  all  the  estimation  it  has;  for  it  is 
a  well  selected  library,  of  a  cosmopolitan  character,  in  which  the  literature 
of  all  languages  is,  and  will  continue  to  be  in  increasing  fullness,  repre- 
sented. 

It  is  no  untried  experiment.  It  is  a  fact  accomplished.  It  is,  and 
will  remain,  an  institution  as  dear  to  the  people  as  the  common  school 
whose  work  it  continues  and  supplements. 

The  present  needs  of  the  library  are  much  greater  than  it  is  in  the 
power  of  the  city  government  to  supply.  At  the  earliest  moment  possible 
it  ouCTht  to  be  in  a  suitable  building,  with  grounds  ample  for  light  and 
future  extension  of  the  building.  It  ought  to  have  more  books.  It  can 
never  have  too  many  of  them.  And  when  these  pressing  wants  shall 
have  been  supplied  it  will  still  need  branches  situated  in  different  parts 
of  the  city,  such  as  have  been  found  necessary  in  all  the  great  libraries  of 
its  class  in  England  and  in  the  United  States. 

Nor  is  it  the  city  of  Chicago  alone  that  you  will  help  in  aiding  to 
build  up  this  library.  No  man  can  state  the  impulse  to  intelligence  given 
by  the  Boston  Public  Library.  It  preserved  to  that  grave  old  city  its 
intellectual  supremacy  at  a  time  when  its  commercial  supremacy  was 
passing  away.  It  filled  the  whole  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts 
with  similar  lil  raries,  so  that  there  is  nothing  comparable  to  it  in  the 
world.  It  set  in  motion  the  legislation  of  nearly  all  the  old  free  States. 
Like  results  have  followed,  and  will  continue  to  follow  your  action  here. 
You  will  make  this  metropolis  the  home  of  learning  and  the  center  of 
literary  as  well  as  commercial  activity.  The  movement  that  was  organ- 
ized here  ten  years  ago  caused  similar  movements  in  twenty  cities  of  this 
State;  and  the  impulse  of  this  meeting  to-night  will  be  felt  from  Galena 
to  Cairo,  and  will  extend  widely  beyond  the  limits  of  the  State." 

Albert  Hayden  said:  "I  want  to  say  a  few  words  in  behalf  of  a  class 
that  do  so  much  of  our  labor,  and  yet,  oftentimes,  are  forgotten — the 
young  of  the  city  of  Chicago.  For  what  need  have  we  of  eyes,  if  seeing 
we  have  nothing  sweet  to  look  upon?  The  fine  arts  of  this  city  have  for 
years,  like  the  Princess  in  the  fairy  tale,  slept  a  dreamless  sleep,  but  the 
Prince — the  people — has  come,  the  kiss  has  been  given,  and  the  city 
awakes  to  a  new  life  of  beautiful  endeavor.  'Tis  like  the  diamond  dew- 
drops  of  hope's  rosy  dawn  breathing  life  into  the  slumbering  talents 
of  the  city  by  the  kiss  of  the  people.  We  do  see,  and  the  memorial  will 
be  sweet — will  be  beautiful  to  look  upon." 

It  was  moved  that  an  executive  committee  be  appointed,  with  power 
to  add  to  their  number,  whose  duty  it  should  be  to  take  charge  of  and 


536  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

conduct  a  popular  subscription  for  the  purpose  of  raising  funds  with 
which  to  erect  a  Memorial  Public  Library  and  Art  Building  or  buildings; 
and  to  appoint  from  its  own  number  a  board  of  ten  trustees,  of  which  the 
Mayor  of  the  city,  ex-officio,  should  be  a  member  and  its  chairman.  Such 
trustees  should  have  exclusive  charge  of  the  safe-keeping  and  expenditure 
of  the  funds  so  raised,  and  determine  all  questions  relating  to  the  location, 
plans  and  construction  of  such  building  or  buildings.  This  Executive 
Committee  were  the  following  named  gentlemen: 

George  E.  Adams,  James  Lane  Allen,  John  Ailing,  E.  G.  Assay, 
P.  D.  Armour,  George  Armour,  Herbert  C.  Ayer,  E.  W.  Blatchford, 
Samuel  Baker,  W.  I.  Baker,  E.  N.  Bates,  A.  C.  Bartlett,  Martin  Beem, 
William  Best,  W.  F.  Blair,  T.  B.  Blackstone,  E.  R.  Bliss,  Samuel  Bliss, 
George  Bohner,  H.  R.  Boss,  N.  K.  Fairbank,  Marshall  Field,  D.  B.  Fisk, 
John  Forsythe,  William  M.  B.  French,  William  A.  Fuller,  A.  B.  Gage, 
L.  J.  Gage,  N.  T.  Gassette,  Charles  Gossage,  Amos  Grannis,  E.  P.  Hall, 
Charles  D.  Hamill,  Albert  Hayden,  Monroe  Heath,  H.  N.  Hibbard, 
•William  J.  Hynes,  C.  M.  Hotchkiss,  F.  C.  Hotz,  W.  E.  McHenry,  John 
J.  McGrath,  A.  McNeil,  Franklin  MacVeagh,  J.  H.  McVicker,  E.  Man- 
dell,  Judge  S.  M.  Moore,  E.  G.  Mason,  A.  B.  Meeker,  Judge  Thomas  A. 
Moran,  Michael  Keeley,  L.  P.  Nelson,  Murry  Nelson,  Dr.  O.  W.  Nixon, 
J.  W.  Oakley,  W.  J.  Onahan,  P.  W.  Palmer,  Sanford  D.  Perry,  Ferd 
W.  Peck,  Ed.  D.  Hosmer,  Dr.  Ernst  Schmidt,  O.  J.  Smith,  Byron  L. 
Smith,  O.  S.  A.  Sprague,  E.  B.  Stevens,  Joseph  Stockton,  W.  E.  Strong, 
Michael  Schweisthal,  James  Springer,  H.  S.  Bowler,  James  B.  Bradwell. 
Michael 'Brand,  James  R.  Caldwell,  B.  Callaghan,  J.  H.  Carpenter,  C. 
H.  Case,  R.  T.  Crane,  G.  C.  Clark,  John  V.  Clarke,  D.  C.  Cregier, 
J.  W.  Doane,  James  H.  Dole,  John  B.  Drake,  N.  C.  Draper,  R.  W.  Dun- 
ham, George  L.  C.  Dunlap,  James  K.  Edsall,  J.  Ward  Ellis,  Aid.  Everett, 
George  M.  How,  Charles  L.  Hutchinson,  John  B.  Jeffery,  W.  L.  B. 
Jenney,  L.  W.  Kecllee,  Edson  Keith,  E.  G.  Keith,  W.  Scott  Keith, 
Charles  Kern,  W.  W.  Kimball,  Henry  W.  King,  David  A.  Kohn,  E. 
Lane,  Robert  Law,  L.  Z.  Leiter,  W.  D.  Le  Parle,  Arthur  A.  Libby, 
B.  Loewental,  A.  C.  McClurg,-Erskine  N.  Phelps,  Eugene  N.  Pike,  W. 
F.  Poole,  O.  W.  Potter,  J.  W.  Preston,  A.  B.  Pullman,  George  M.  Pull- 
man, John  G.  Rogers,  John  W.  Root,  M.  A.  Rorke,  Jacob  Rosenberg, 
Julius  Rosenthal,  Harry  Rubens,  Joseph  Sears,  Theodore  Schintz,  George 
Schneider,  Conrad  Seipp,  M.  Belz,  D.  L.  Shorey,  C.  H.  Taylor,  Henry 
Waller,  Jr.,  John  B.  Walker,  J.  W.  Waughop,  A.  N.  Waterman,  Willard 
Woodard,  Henry  J.  Willing  and  A.  B.  Adair. 


537 


CHARLES  KERN. 


It  would  be  difficult  to  approximately  estimate  Chicago's  indebted- 
ness to  German  character  and  intellect.  Famed  for  her  colleges,  her 
philosophy,  her  music  and  system  of  education,  Germany  is  in  a  position 
to  aid  in  perfecting  the  maturing  process  in  the  New  World,  and  she  has 
contributed  a  goodly  portion  of  the  best  element  of  her  people  to  the 
city  on  the  lake  shore.  Lovers  of  liberty,  intelligent  and  industrious,  our 
citizens  of  German  origin  have  been  a  powerful  factor  in  the  develop- 
ment of  good  government,  the  advance  of  intelligence,  and  the  creation 
of  the  commercial  greatness  of  our  city.  There  is  in  the  German  char- 
acter that  innate  love  for  right  and  justice,  which  constitutes  both  an 
incentive  to  proper  action  and  a  fortress  against  the  assaults  of  those 
peculiar  temptations  which  seek  to  entrap  men  in  official  life,  and  the 
exceptional  corruption,  which  serves  to  more  clearly  define  the  rule, 
is  always  most  severely  censured  by  the  Germans  themselves. 

Among  the  most  prominent  of  the  representative  German- American 
citizens  of  Chicago,  is  Charles  Kern,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  whose 
private  and  public  record  commands  the  approval  not  only  of  the  Ger- 
man ponulace  but  of  the  community  at  large,  without  distinction  of  party 
or  class.  Affable  in  manner,  kind  of  heart,  and  circumspect  in  his  private 
life,  he  early  and  readily  won  popularity,  and  his  record  as  the  occupant 
of  an  important  local  office,  confirmed  his  title  to  popular  esteem. 

Charles  Kern  was  born  at  Otterbach,  in  Rhenish-Bavaria,  Germany, 
.April  iSth,  1831.  He  enjoyed  the  facilities  "for  obtaining  an  education 
which  are  furnished  the  masses  by  the  admirable  German  system,  and 
was  thus  well  equipped  for  the  battle  of  life.  When  eighteen  years  of 
age  he  left  his  native  land  and  came  to  America,  settling  at  Terre  H;iute, 
Indiana,  where  by  close  attention  to  business,  a  pleasing  address  and 
upright  conduct,  he  soon  established  himself  not  only  as  a  leading  but 
an  exceedingly  popular  citizen.  In  course  of  time  he  took  more  or  less 
interest  in  politics,  identifying  himself  with  the  Democratic  party,  which 
in  1862  placed  him  in  nomination  for  the  shrievalty  of  Vigo  county. 
The  party  at  this  time  appeared  to  be  in  a  hopeless  minority,  and  it  seemed 
a  useless  sacrifice  for  a  man  to  permit  himself  to  be  used  as  a  candidate, 
a  view  which  Mr.  Kern  himself  took  of  the  situation,  and  as  a  result 
positively  refused  to  consent  to  the  use  of  his  name  before  the  convention.. 
Notwithstanding  his  unwillingness  to  be  a  candidate,  however,  he  was 


538  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

nominated  by  acclamation,  and  elected  by  a  large  majority,  an  unexpected 
success,  furnishing  conclusive  evidence  of  his  popularity  and  the  general 
confidence  in  his  character.  Nor  was  this  popular  estimate  of  his  fitness 
for  the  responsible  position  excessive,  as  was  shown  by  the  executive 
ability  and  unswerving  honesty  which  distinguished  his  administration 
of  his  office,  and  which  secured  for  him  the  honor  of  being  called  by  his 
constituency  the  best  sheriff  that  Vigo  county  ever  had. 

After  the  close  of  his  official  term  in  that  county,  he  removed  to 
Chicago,  and  made  a  permanent  settlement  here  in  1865.  He  rapidly  grew 
in  popularity  and  in  the  confidence  of  the  people,  and  in  1868  was  unani- 
mously nominated  as  the  Democratic  candidate  for  sheriff  of  Cook  county. 
There  was  no  hope,  however,  for  his  election,  the.  county  being  over- 
whelmingly Republican.  But  his  candidacy  brought  him  prominently 
before  the  public,  and  in  1870  he  was  again  the  unanimous  choice  of  his 
party  for  the  office  for  which  he  was  defeated  in  1868.  While  he  was 
not  elected,  and  had  no  expectation  of  being,  his  popularity  was  evidenced 
in  the  fact  that  he  ran  nearly  three  thousand  ahead  of  his  ticket.  In  1872 
he  was  once  more  unanimously  selected  by  the  Democracy  as  their  candi- 
date for  the  shrievalty,  and  was  again  defeated,  but  ran  four  thousand 
ahead  of  the  regular  ticket.  In  1876  he  was  for  the  fourth  time  placed 
in  unanimous  nomination,  and  was  elected  by  the  flattering  majority  of 
six  thousand  votes,  while  the  balance  of  the  Democratic  county  ticket 
was  defeated  by  four  thousand  majority. 

Two  years  have  passed  since  Mr.  Kern  was  the  sheriff  of  Cook 
county,  and  an  impartial  estimate  of  his  administration  of  the  office  can 
be  made.  In  doing  this  we  shall  be  greatly  assisted  by  the  commendation 
given  him  while  he  was  yet  in  office  by  those  who  were  opposed  to  him 
politically.  The  Republican  journals,  Republican  lawyers,  and  the 
public  at  large,  united  in  saying  that  the  office  was  managed  with  remarka- 
ble courtesy  and  economy.  Many  innovations  were  made  upon  old 
customs,  and  many  things  introduced  into  the  administration,  which 
made  the  sheriff's  office  of  greater  public  utility  and  convenience.  The 
strict  business  habits  of  the  man  were  carried  by  him  into  the  discharge 
of  his  public  duties,  and  straightforward  honesty  shone  conspicuously 
throughout  his  official  term. 

Since  his  retirement  from  office,  Mr.  Kern  has  devoted  himself  strictly 
to  his  private  business.  During  the  first  year  of  Mavor  Harrison's 
administration,  Mr.  Kern's  name  was  prominently  mentioned  in  connec- 
tion with  the  office  of  Chief  of  Police,  but  he  declined  to  entertain  the 
proposition.  In  the  Spring  of  iSSi  he  was  requested  to  permit  the  use  of 
his  name  in  connection  with  the  Democratic  nomination  for  City  Treasurer, 
and  could  have  received  the  nomination,  but  preferring  to  give  his  atten- 
tion to  his  private  business,  he  declined  to  be  a  candidate. 

In  personal  appearance  the  Ex-Sheriff  of  two  counties  in  separate 
States — although  he  is  only  in  the  prime  of  life — looks  much  younger  than 
he  really  is;  and  while  his  natural  courtesy  is  apt  to  attract  attention,  he 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  539 

yet  gives  evidence  amidst  all  his  mildness  of  manner  of  the  indomitable 
will  and  energy  which  he  possesses  in  such  a  prominent  degree,  and 
which  insures  him  success  in  all  that  he  undertakes. 


D.  V.  PURINGTON. 


The  men  whose  biographies  most  benefit  the  world  and  give  the 
most  complete  satisfaction  to  those  immediately  interested  in  them,  are 
not  those  who  through  some  exceptionally  favorable  opportunity  have 
been  suddenly  thrust  into  prominence,  but  are  those  whose  lives  have  been 
a  steady  and  gradual  development  and  progress.  It  is  character  that  is 
not  only  the  safeguard  and  support  of  society,  but  the  chief  ornament  of 
the  individual,  and  perfect  character  is  of  slow  and  symmetrical  growth. 
Special  emergencies  may  call  to  the  surface  special  traits,  and  the  man 
whose  fitness  for  the  hour  is  thus  demonstrated,  may  attract  the  public 
attention  and  merit  the  public  regard  for  what  nature  fitted  him  to  do 
under  the  circumstances.  But  when  particular  occasions  and  necessities 
are  required  to  develop  men's  higher  usefulness,  the  fact  indicates  a  lack 
of  symmetrical  organization,  and  suggests  that  the  major  portion  of  such 
lives  must  be  spent  in  very  indifferent  benefit  to  the  world.  The  meteors 
are  beautiful,  but  it  is  the  steady  shining  stars  that  receive  our  greatest 
adoration,  and  while  the  flash  of  suddenly  acquired  fame  dazzles  for 
a  moment,  it  is  the  man  who  is  faithful  and  efficient  in  the  discharge  of 
every  duty  in  all  of  the  relations  of  life,  upon  whom  our  thoughts  and 
respect  center.  D.  V.  Purington,  the  subject  of  the  following  sketch,  is 
eminently  one  of  those  who  has  gradually  and  healthily  grown  into 
honorable  prominence,  and  whose  usefulness  and  uprightness  as  a  business 
man,  citizen  and  official  have  merited  and  received  the  homage  of  his 
neighbors  and  of  the  public.  Of  New  England  and  Quaker  origin,  he 
is  endowed  by  both  birth  and  training  with  that  love  of  principle  and 
staunchness  of  character  which  are  so  grandly  prominent  in  New  England 
civilization  and  in  the  society  of  Friends,  and  which  have  served  him  so 
well  as  the  basis  for  success  in  life.  With  such  a  rich  inheritance,  the 
only  question  that  ever  presents  itself  to  his  mind  to  be  answered  as 
a  preliminary  to  prompt  action  is,  Is  it  a  duty?  All  other  considerations 
are  subordinate. 

Mr.  Purington  was  born  January  22d,  1841,  in  Sidney,  Kennebec 
county,  State  of  Maine.  His  parents,  Daniel  S.  and  Sarah  V.  Puring- 
ton, were  conscientious  people,  whose  honesty,  integrity  and  virtue  made 
a  beautiful  example  for  their  children,  and  whose  tenderness  and  love 
developed  into  robust  life  the  better  natures  of  their  family.  Eight  years 
after  the  birth  of  our  subject,  his  father  removed  to  Massachusetts,  and 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  541 

a  large  portion  of  his  childhood  days  was  spent  in  Amesbury  in  that 
State.  Beside  enjoying  the  privileges  of  the  New  England  common 
school,  he  was  a  student  at  Oak  Grove  Seminary,  Vassalboro,  Maine, 
where  he  completed  an  excellent  education. 

At  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  in  1861,  he  was  a  resident  of  New 
Jersey,  in  which  State  he  had  been  engaged  in  teaching  for  two  years. 
As  would  naturally  be  supposed,  the  call  of  his  country  for  men  to  defend 
its  honor  and  preserve  the  life  of  the  government  was  at  once  responded 
to  by  young  Purington,  and  on  the  twenty-third  of  August,  1861,  he 
enlisted  at  Trenton,  in  the  Fourth  New  Jersey  Volunteers,  and  went  into 
active  service,  performing  his  duties  with  that  strict  fidelity  which  has 
distinguished  him  in  whatever  he  has  ever  undertaken.  On  the  eighth 
of  January,  1863,  .he  was  commissioned  First  Lieutenant  and  appointed 
Regimental  Quartermaster.  This  position  he  resigned,  however,  in  the 
month  of  December  following,  for  the  purpose  of  accepting  a  similar 
position  in  the  Seventh  United  States  Colored  Infantry.  January  8th» 
1864,  he  was  commissioned  by  President  Lincoln  a  captain,  and  Assistant 
Quartermaster  United  States  Volunteers,  being  assigned  to  duty  with 
Major-General  Godfrey  Weitzel,  commanding  the  Twenty-fifth  Army 
Corps.  With  this  command  he  went  to  Texas,  where  he  remained  until 
November,  1865,  when  he  was  ordered  home,  and  was  mustered  out  of 
the  service  January  8th,  1866. 

In  April,  1869,  Mr.  Purington  arrived  in  Chicago,  with  the  view  of 
making  it  his  future  home,  and  entered  into  the  lumber  business,  which 
he  prosecuted  for  three  years.  In  April,  1872,  he  became  interested  in 
the  manufacture  of  brick,  and  has  been  in  that  business  down  to  the 
present  time,  being  the  senior  member  of  the  well  known  firm  of  Pur- 
ington &  Kimbell.  For  the  last  three  years,  at  least,  this  firm  has  done 
the  heaviest  business  in  its  line,  in  Chicago. 

In  the  Fall  of  1879,  without  personal  solicitation  or  effort,  Mr. 
Purington  was  nominated  for  the  office  of  County  Commissioner  for 
Cook  county,  and  was  elected  by  over  five  thousand  majority.  In  the 
year  following  he  was  unanimously  elected  President  of  the  Board  of 
Commissioners,  and  both  as  a  member  of  the  board  and  as  its  president^ 
he  has  performed  his  duties  in  a  manner  most  creditable  to  himself  and 
satisfactory  to  the  county,  an  achievement  not  easy  of  accomplishment^ 
even  with  the  best  of  abilities  and  the  best  intentions.  But  he  has 
achieved  success  as  an  official  by  following  the  same  line  of  action  that 
has  led  to  the  achievement  of  the  most  satisfactory  success  in  his  own 
private  business,  the  distinguishing  feature  of  his  course  being  strict 
integrity,  clean  cut  honesty  and  an  industrious  application  to  the  discharge 
of  duty.  A  community's  interests  are  always  safe  in  the  hands  of  such 
men,  for  they  not  only  have  the  mind  to  discern  the  proper  course  to 
pursue,  but  the  honesty  of  purpose  and  energy  to  pursue  it;  and  while 
his  own  private  affairs  are  quite  sufficient  to  engross  his  attention,  it  is 
altogether  probable  that  the  community  will  demand  of  Mr.  Purino-ton 


542  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

in  the  future  that  sacrifice' which  any  business  man  must  make  if  he  accept 
public  office,  by  summoning  him  to  the  discharge  of  the  duties  of  other 
official  positions. 

Our  subject  was  married  at  Madison,  in  the  State  of  New  York, 
December  13th,  1866,  to  M.  Louise  Chamberlain,  and  in  his  domestic 
relations  is  favored  by  the  fortune  which  seems  to  have  graciously  smiled 
upon  all  the  undertakings  and  relations  of  his  life.  Yet  a  young  man, 
and  happily  surrounded  at  home,  in  business  and  as  a  public  officer; 
steadily  achieving,  and  with  an  ambition  to  do  what  he  does  do  well,  it 
is  not  likely  that  even  his  past  record  is  more  than  a  beginning  of  an 
aggregate  of  the  most  satisfactory  achievements  yet  to  be  wrought. 


543 


ORRIN   L.  MANN. 


The  subject  of  this  sketch  holds  honorable  rank  among  those  who  by 
natural  force  of  character,  integrity  and  honesty  have  risen  to  distinction 
in  the  great  city  of  Chicago.  Endowed  with  superior  natural  abilities, 
self-educated  in  the  sense  that  he  has  laboriously  commanded  the  best 
means  of  self-culture,  tenacious  in  the  pursuit  of  objects  whose  accom- 
plishment he  has  deemed  to  be  in  his  line  of  duty,  and  public  spirited  in 
the  broadest  and  most  patriotic  meaning  of  the  term,  he  long  since 
attracted!  public  attention,  and  won  the  public  esteem.  Early  identifying 
himself  with  the  fortunes  of  the  young  city  of  the  prairies,  his  career 
has  been  blended  with  the  latter's  history  for  nearly  a  third  of  a  century, 
and,  indeed,  has  been  a  conspicuous  and  attractive  portion  of  it.  Much 
in  public  life,  and  having  acquitted  himself  in  every  official  position  that 
he  has  held,  in  such  manner  as  to  insure  for  himself  universal  esteem  and 
confidence,  the  fact  of  itself  indicates  not  only  a  superior  executive  ability, 
but  a  well  balanced  and  robust  character.  That  much  of  his  unclouded 
record,  too,  was  made  in  those  troublesome  and  ill-jointed  times  in  our 
country's  history,  when  apparently  the  strongest  character  frequently 
failed  in  power  of  resistance  to  the  unusual  temptations  which  are  con- 
comitant with  turbulent  periods,  is  still  further  evidence  of  the  sterling 
worth  of  the  man.  The  great  secret  of  his  success  may  be  said  to  have 
been  his  unswerving  devotion  in  the  discharge  of  the  higher  obligations 
which  rest  upon  men.  Whatever  his  hands  have  found  to  do,  he  has 
done  well,  and  when  the  nature  of  the  performance  would  admit,  he 
has  really  acquitted  himself  brilliantly. 

General  Mann  was  born  in  Chardon,  Geauga  county,  Ohio,  November 
25th,  1833.  His  parents  were  Benjamin  J.  and  Joanna  Mann,  who  came 
from  revolutionary  stock,  the  fathers  of  both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mann  having 
served  in  the  Colonial  army  in  the  war  for  American  independence. 
Soon  after  the  birth  of  Orrin,  his  father  removed  to  the  State  of  Michigan, 
where  he  died  in  1843.  Until  twenty  years  of  age  he  was  engaged  in 
farm  life,  an  occupation  which  was  entirely  too  monotonous  and  circum- 
scribed for  a  mind  and  ambition  like  his.  At  this  age,  therefore,  he 
turned  his  attention  to  mechanical  pursuits,  apprenticing  himself  to  the 
trade  ot  blacksmithing  at  Ann  Arbor,  which,  however,  in  consequence  of 
a  severe  injury  he  was  compelled  to  abandon  after  a  year's  service.  Next 
we  find  him  fired  with  a  desire  to  obtain  a  scholastic  education,  and  in  spite 


544  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

\ 

of  poverty  and  the  responsibility  of  helping  to  support  his  mother,  he 
began  a  preparatory  course  of  study  at  the  Albion  Seminary,  Michigan. 
But  his  straightened  circumstances  necessitated  the  abandonment  of  his 
studies  at  this  place,  after  two  years  of  heroic  application,  and  he  came 
to  Chicago — in  1853 — where  for  a  time  he  was  engaged  in  teaching  in 
a  private  school,  not  forgetting  to  employ  his  leisure  time  in  self-instruc- 
tion. In  1856,  seeing  his  way  clear  to  enter  upon  a  collegiate  course,  he 
entered  college  at  Ann  Arbor,  but  was  compelled  in  his  Junior  year,  by 
reason  of  ill-health,  to  again  abandon  his  studies,  upon  doing  which  he  once 
more  returned  to  Chicago,  where  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  of  the 
rebellion  in  1861  found  him. 

Young  Mann's  patriotism  was  aroused  to  the  highest  pitch  by  the 
firing  upon  Sumter,  and  he  at  once  enlisted  as  a  private.  Not  content, 
however,  with  enlisting  himself,  he  sought  opportunities  to  enlist  others, 
and  soon  succeeded  in  raising  a  company  for  the  Thirty-ninth  Illinois 
Regiment,  which  is  known  in  history  as  the  Yates  Phalanx,  taking  its 
name  from  the  War  Governor  of  the  State.  This  grand  regiment  of 
brave  soldiers,  which  during  four  years  of  service  made  a  record  which 
that  of  no  other  regiment  in  our  great  army  eclipsed,  was  first  tendered, 
by  advice  of  Governor  Yates,  to  Generals  Lyon  and  Blair,  for  service  in 
Missouri.  The  offer  was  not  accepted,  however,  but  the  refusal  only 
nerved  Mann  to  greater  exertion,  and  he  soon  sought  an  audience  with 
President  Lincoln  and  his  Secretary  of  War.  The  President  believed 
with  Mr.  Mann,  that  more  men  were  needed,  and  was  grateful  for  the 
offer  of  the  Thirty-ninth,  but  said  that  he  had  determined  to  accept  no 
more  until  Congress  had  perfected  a  military  bill.  On  the  President's 
advice  he  remained  in  Washington,  living  upon  Mr.  Lincoln's  assurance 
"that  the  boys  from  Illinois  would  beyond  a  doubt  soon  have  a  chance  to 
fight."  Congress  convened  July  4th,  1861,  but  it  was  not  until  the 
twenty-third  day  of  that  month,  after  the  Bull  Run  disaster,  that  Mr.  Mann 
was  summoned  to  the  War  Department  and  directed  to  fill  up  his  regiment 
at  once.  Having  accomplished  this  with  remarkable  vigor  and  prompti- 
tude, he  was  elected  and  commissioned  Major  thereof. 

The  career  of  the  Thirty-ninth  is  historical,  and  the  barest  outline 
of  its  record  is  vividly  suggestive.  From  Illinois  to  Missouri;  thence  to 
Maryland;  soon  after  to  Virginia,  on  the  upper  Potomac — these  rapid 
movements  bring  it  fairly  into  the  field  of  action.  Major  Mann  was 
stationed  with  a  small  detachment  of  his  command  at  Burkley  Springs, 
to  guard  the  approach  to  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  railroad.  January  2cl, 
1862,  with  less  than  a  company  of  infantry  and  a  few  horse,  he  met,  near 
Bath,  the  advanc.e  brigade  of  "Stonewall"  Jackson's  entire  army.  Falling 
back,  after  a  brisk  fight  in  which  thirteen  men  were  lost,  to  Burkley,  he 
tenaciously  held  that  strong  and  vital  position  all  the  next  day  with  his 
three  companies.  Late  in  the  evening,  after  being  nearly  surrounded, 
he  skillfully  retreated  to  Sir  John's  Run,  where  he  forded  the  Potomac, 
the  water  four  feet  deep  and  ice  fringing  both  shores.  This  stubborn 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  545 

resistance,  which  retarded  the  advance  of  the  enemy  and  enabled  other 
troops  to  cross  the  river,  secured  Major  Mann's  elevation  to  the  rank 
•of  Lieutenant-Colonel,  together  with  a  commendatory  notice  from  General 
Kelly,  commanding.  He  was  subsequently  made  a  member  of  General  A. 
S.  Williams'  staff,  but  was  permitted,  at  his  urgent  request,  to  accompany 
his  regiment  to  Western  Virginia,  returning  whence  he  participated  in 
the  first  battle  of  Winchester,  the  scene  of  "Stonewall"  Jackson's  first 
and  only  thorough  defeat.  In  May,  the  Thirty-ninth  was  sent,  under 
•Colonel  Mann's  command,  into  the  Luray  Valley  to  seize  two  important 
bridges,  which  he  accomplished  after  a  severe  engagement.  During  the 
latter  part  of  the  year,  while  the  regiment  was  stationed  at  Suffolk,  Colonel 
Mann  served  as  president  of  a  General  Court  Martial.  In  January,  1863, 
he  accompanied  his  command  to  Newbern,  North  Carolina,  and  thence 
to  Hilton  Head,  South  Carolina. 

The  first  to  land  on  Folly  Island,  the  Yates  Phalanx  bore  an  energetic 
hand  in  constructing  the  works  by  which  Morris  Island  was  subsequently 
reduced.  In  the  siege  of  Forts  Wagner  and  Gregg,  Colonel  Mann  bore 
-a  prominent  part,  leading  the  brigade  which  entered  these  strongholds. 
He  informed  General  Gilmore  by  telegraph  that  the  rebels  were  prepar- 
ing to  desert  Wagner,  and  requested  permission  to  move  upon  their  works. 
The  request  was  granted,  and  the  result — about  sixty  prisoners  and  forty 
pieces  of  artillery  being  taken,  with  slight  loss — was  announced  to  General 
Gilmore  in  the  following  laconic  telegram,  which  went  the  rounds  of  the 
papers,  and  which  might  have  served  both  statesmen  and  generals  since 
as  a  model  of  economic  as  well  as  graphic  conciseness:  "The  Field  Officer 
•of  the  Trenches  sends  his  compliments  and  congratulations  from  the  bomb- 
proof of  fallen  Fort  Wagner,  to  the  General  commanding,  and  wishes  to 
assure  him  that  his  confidence  in  God  and  General  Gilmore  is  unshaken." 

Colonel  Mann  passed  the  most  of  the  following  Winter  in  the  recruit- 
ing service,  with  headquarters  at  Chicago.  His  patriotic  and  effective 
speeches  in  Northern  Illinois  drew  the  best  of  citizenship  to  fill  anew  the 
exhausted  ranks  of  the  Yates  Phalanx. 

On  the  expiration  of  its  term  of  service,  the  Thirty-ninth  came  home, 
February,  1864;  but  the  war  was  not  yet  over,  and  the  entire  command 
re-enlisted,  after  a  month's  furlough,  and  returned  to  the  field  as  "veterans." 
They  were  assigned  to  duty  on  the  James,  under  General  B.  F.  Butler. 
On  the  fourteenth  of  May  the  Colonel  of  the  regiment,  afterward 
Major-General  T.  O.  Osborne,  at  present  our  resident  Minister  to  the 
Argentine  Confederation,  was  seriously  wounded  at  the  head  of  his 
brigade,  and  on  the  following  day  the  Major  and  a  large  number  of  line 
officers  were  either  killed  or  wounded.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Mann  was 
the  only  field  officer  remaining,  and  he  had  serious  work  on  hand  at  once. 
Three  days  afterward,  General  Longstreet,  having  advanced  along  the  line 
of  Bermuda  Hundred,  began  intrenching  his  position.  The  situation 
was  critical.  The  Union  forces  had  been  driven  back  from  a  vital  posi- 
tion, which  must  be  at  once  regained.  The  Thirty-ninth  was  ordered 


546  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

to  assume  the  advance,  and  came  back  with  a  large  number  of  prisoners, 
among  them  a  Brigadier-General.  For  his  gallantry  in  this  decisive 
action,  displayed  at  the  expense  of  a  gunshot  wound  in  his  left  leg,  below 
the  knee,  both  bones  being  shattered,  Colonel  Mann  was  brevetted 
Brigadier-General.  His  wound,  which  was  very  serious,  kept  him  in 
hospital  until  Autumn.  But  his  nature  craved  activity.  He  was  impatient 
to  be  at  work  when  there  was  so  much  to  be  done;  and  so  he  served,  as 
soon  as  convalescent,  on  a  Court  Martial  at  Fortress  Monroe. 

January  1st,  1865,  being  still  incapacitated  for  the  field,  General  Mann 
was  assigned  to  staff  duty  under  Major-General  Ord,  and  served  as 
Provost  Marshal  of  the  District  of  Eastern  Virginia,  with  headquarters 
at  Norfolk.  The  position,  though  occupied  by  a  soldier  disabled  for 
service  in  the  field,  was  no  sinecure.  It  required  intense  application  and 
continuous  activity,  in  every  sense  save  that  of  locomotion.  The  Provost 
Marshal  was  Mayor  and  Common  Council  in  one,  administering,  at  a 
most  critical  period,  the  affairs  of  a  city  of  mixed  population  numbering 
twenty  thousand;  superintendent  of  an  extensive  public  school  system 
established  by  the  wisdom  of  General  Butler;  general  superintendent 
of  a  large  military  prison,  and  superintendent  of  the  City  Gas  Company. 
These  were  the  specific,  definable  duties,  and  they  were  scarcely  a  moiety 
compared  with  the  indefinite  range,  touching  every  phase  of  social  or 
municipal  life,  which  were  none  the  less  exacting  in  that  they  were 
informal  and  in  a  great  measure  voluntary.  To  discharge  duties  so  varied, 
complicated  and  delicate,  required  both  commanding  executive  ability 
and  an  endowment  and  habit  of  tact,  decision  and  readiness  which  if  few 
men  possess,  fewer  still  can  acquire.  Such,  however,  was  the  union  in 
General  Mann's  whole  administration  of  official  authority  and  personal 
influence,  respectively  strengthening  and  mitigating  each  other,  that  he 
received  the  hearty  approbation  both  of  his  superior  officers  and  of  the 
citizens  of  his  district,  almost  without  distinction. 

Richmond  having  fallen,  the  Confederacy  having  yielded  to  superior 
force  and  wisdom  in  field  and  council,  it  was  supposed  that  local  military 
rule  could  be  greatly  modified  if  not  wholly  foregone;  and  General 
Mann,  now  promoted  to  a  full  colonelcy,  was  ordered  to  join  his  com- 
mand at  Richmond.  The  Norfolk  marshalship  was  abolished,  and  the 
city  turned  over  to  the  civil  authorities.  But  it  soon  became  apparent 
that  the  political  elements  were  too  profoundly  disturbed  to  be  controlled 
by  any  rule  less  absolute  than  that  which  had  conquered  a  nominal  peace. 
Norfolk  was  filled  with  freed  men,  while  the  municipality  was  practically 
in  the  hands  of  conquered  but  not  converted  rebels.  Between  the  police 
especially  and  the  negroes,  frequent  collisions  occurred,  and  society  was 
rapidly  degenerating  to  the  anarchy  which  precedes  and  sometimes 
justifies  despotism.  Upon  the  order  of  Major-General  Terry,  then 
commanding  the  Department,  General  Mann  was  re-assigned  to  his  old 
district,  with  plenary  powers,  according  to  his  brevet  rank.  He  had  two 
regiments  of  infantry,  one  of  cavalry,  and  a  battery  of  artillery  at  his 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  547 

command.  The  police  of  Norfolk  and  Portsmouth  were  deposed,  and 
details  from  the  military  took  their  place.  A  military  commission  was 
organized  before  which  loyal  citizens,  whether  white  or  black,  unable 
to  get  justice  at  the  hands  of  the  civil  courts,  had  a  prompt  and  fair 
hearing.  But  few  days  passed  ere  life,  liberty  and  good  order  were  once 
more  secure  throughout  the  contumacious  district.  A  circular,  abounding 
in  plain  and  practical  advice,  was  issued  by  General  Mann  and  distributed 
among  the  freedmen,  from  which  we  take  the  following,  as  illustrative 
of  the  merit  of  the  document,  and  as  being  the  soundest  advice  which  man 
as  such  or  as  a  statesman  could  give  under  the  circumstances:  "Remem- 
ber that,  being  free,  you  must  become  your  own  supporters.  You  no 
longer  have  masters  to  provide  for  you;  by  your  own  industry  and 
economy  you  must  now  live.  *  *  *  Do  not  rely  too  much  on  the 
government  for  support.  Your  freedom  and  our  national  existence  have 
already  cost  the  government  millions  of  money.  *  *  *  Remember, 
meantime,  that  the  government  is  ever  ready  to  protect  you,  assist  and 
encourage  you  in  your  freedom,  and  in  your  every  laudable  effort  to  elevate 
yourselves  in  the  scale  of  human  existence.  For  this  purpose  the  Freed- 
men's  Bureau  is  established,  *  *  *  to  furnish  protection  to  the 
weak,  work  for  the  poor,  and  houses  and  rations  for  the  old,  infirm  and 
absolutely  needy,  and  help  you  as  far  as  possible  to  educate  yourselves 
and  your  children.  It  is  established  to  do  for  you  what  a  wise  father 
would  do  for  his  children.  *  *  *  Cultivate  friendly  relations  with 
your  former  masters.  *  *  *  Those  persons  may  yet  be  among 
your  best  friends;  they  need  your  labor  now,  and  they  will  need  it  for 
years  to  come.  You  need  the  remuneration  which  they  will  give  you 
now,  and  you  will  need  it  for  years  to  come.  *  *  *  Abandon  at 
once  the  foolish  idea  which  many  of  you  have  imbibed,  that  cities  and 
towns  alone  can  furnish  you  means  of  support.  *  *  *  Leave  vour 
crowded  huts  and  houses  in  cities  and  towns,  and,  as  many  of  you  as 
can,  go  to  the  country.  *  *  *  But,  if  you  must  stay  in  cities  and 
towns,  be  not  idle,  but  follow  the  noble  example  of  enterprise  and  indus- 
try that  many  of  your  race  have  set  you.  Let  your  boys  enter  shops 
and  learn  trades;  let  them  become  workers  of  wood,  iron,  leather  and 
cloth.  *  *  *  Let  your  girls  braid  bonnets  and  hats,  manage  sewing 
machines,  knit  socks  and  control  kitchens.  Let  each  Saturday  night 
find  a  few  cents,  a  few  dimes  or  a  few  dollars  laid  aside  from  your  honest 
earnings  for  future  use.  *  *  *  Cultivate  and  advocate  the  highest 
respect  for  the  marriage  relation.  Discountenance  at  once  the  loose, 
irresponsible  manner  in  which  many  of  you,  owing  to  the  peculiarities 
of  your  former  situation,  are  now  living,  *  *  *  and  thus  take  one 
step  further  from  the  barbarous  regions  from  whose  borders  you  have 
lately  escaped.  *  *  *  Be  not  over  anxious  to  vote  at  present,  hut 
let  your  anxiety  be  rather  to  learn  how  to  read  and  write.  *  *  *  Buy 
books  and  read  them.  Go  to  the  schools;  attend  your  churches,  and  lose 
no  opportunity  to  gain  information  and  secure  knowledge." 


548  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

buch  was  the  policy,  exhibiting  malice  toward  none  and  charity 
toward  all,  which  soon  reduced  rebellious  elements,  winning  even  more 
than  it  compelled.  The  district  was  thoroughly  "reconstructed"  when 
General  Mann  took  final  leave  of  it,  in  December,  1865,  to  be  mustered 
out  with  his  regiment  at  Springfield,  Illinois. 

After  the  war  General  Mann  received  the  appointment  as  Collector 
of  Internal  Revenue  for  the  First  District  of  Illinois,  and  while  serving 
in  that  official  position  showed  the  same  prominent  characteristics  that 
distinguished  his  services  in  the  war.  After  leaving  this  office  he  engaged 
for  a  time  in  the  business  of  brick  making,  and  did  an  extensive  business. 
In  the  fire  of  1871,  however,  he  was  a  loser,  and  through  the  failure 
of  many  of  his  customers,  lost  heavily  in  the  great  panic.  After  this  great 
calamity,  he  entered  upon  the  real  estate  business,  and  is  yet  a  member 
of  the  firm  of  Mann  &  Congdon,  engaged  in  that  business. 

From  its  first  organization,  General  Mann  has  been  identified  with 
the  Republican  party,  and  has  always  been  active  in  politics.  He  was 
the  original  organizer  of  the  famous  "Ballot  Box  Guards,"  an  organiza- 
tion created  to  preserve  the  purity  of  the  ballot  box,  and  one  which  has 
done  much,  good  in  that  direction. 

He  served  a  term  in  our  State  legislature  several  years  ago,  and  was 
just  closing  a  term  of  active,  intelligent  coroner's  life,  when  he  was  elected 
sheriff  of  his  great  county.  This  position  he  now  holds,  and  the  affairs 
of  the  responsible  office  will  doubtless  continue  to  be  successfully  and 
faithfully  administered. 

General  Mann  was  married  at  Ann  Arbor,  Michigan,  August,  1862, 
to  Adelia  A.  Sawyer,  and  three  children  have  blessed  the  union:  May, 
fourteen  years  of  age,  June,  twelve,  and  Maud,  ten.  In  his  domestic  and 
private  life  he  entertains  the  same  rigid  regard  for  integrity  and  honesty 
of  conduct  that  has  distinguished  him  as  a  public  man.  Personally  he  is 
affable  in  manner  and  readily  approachable,  winning  the  friendship  of  all 
with  whom  he  comes  in  contact,  and  who  can  appreciate  a  generous 
heart  and  a  noble  nature. 

Thus  closes  the  sketch  of  a  life  which  has  been  crowded  with  impor- 
tant events,  and  distinguished  for  success  and  usefulness.  Locally 
considered,  few  men  have  made  so  prominent  a  record  or  one  so  free 
from  taint  or  blemish  and  in  a  national  point  of  view,  while  there  were 
hundreds  and  thousands  of  brave  men  upon  the  same  field,  battling  for 
the  honor  of  the  same  flag,  as  upon  which  and  under  which  General 
Mann  achieved  fame  as  a  soldier,  not  one  acquitted  himself  more  heroically, 
patriotically  or  judiciously. 


ALVIN    HULBERT. 


Some  men  are  so  evenly  balanced  that  their  lives  appear  to  be  utterly 
free  from  friction,  and  they  reach  success  by  a  course  as  steady  as  that  of 
the  sun  from  its  rising  to  its  zenith.  Under  their  easy  manipulation,  but 
through  masterly  tact  and  sleepless  enterprise,  whatever  they  undertake 
develops  grandly  and  regularly,  always  suggesting  an  unusual  endow- 
ment of  natural  ability.  Such  men  are  ever  reliable  when  society  demands 
their  services,  for  they  are  weak  in  no  particular  and  under  no  circum- 
stances. Unusual  events  of  an  exciting  character  never  unduly  elate 
them,  and  circumstances  of  an  adverse  nature  never  depress  them. 
Like  the  flow  of  the  river  their  lives  glide  regularly  on;  like  the  coming 
and  going  of  the  seasons,  their  course  is  definitely  fixed,  and  like  the 
glow  of  the  stars,  their  acts  are  characterized  by  a  modesty  that  is  attractive 
and  yet  with  a  power  that  makes  their  individuality  always  conspicuous. 

Alvin  Hulbert,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  belongs  to  this  not  over 
crowded  class  of  men.  Prominence  and  affluence  are  usually  attained 
through  what  may  be  properly  termed  flashes  of  character  and  action — 
a  blazing  of  energy  and  talent  in  some  one  direction,  and  a  friction  which 
is  self-exhausting  and  neither  so  beautiful  to  behold  nor  so  strengthening 
to  the  best  interests  of  the  community  as  a  calmer  and  steadier  achieve- 
ment of  the  same  ends.  But  from  his  boyhood  days  until  the  present, 
our  subject  has  shown  instead  of  such  a  one-sided  development  of  ability 
and  enterprise,  a  solid  and  charming  entirety  of  character  development, 
which  has  won  universal  respect  and  confidence.  As  a  business  man, 
citizen,  neighbor  and  friend,  he  has  been  and  is  a  constant  exhibition  of 
honor,  integrity  and  honesty.  Unostentatious  and  unassuming,  he  is  yet 
firm  in  his  convictions  and  courageous  in  the  discharge  of  duty;  quiet  in 
business  matters,  as  he  is  in  social  intercourse,  yet  he  possesses  an  executive 
ability  which  is  seldom  equaled  and  never  surpassed,  and  amiable  and 
courteous  as  either  host,  acquaintance  or  friend,  his  place  is  not  easy  to  fill. 

Mr.  Hulbert  was  born  in  Rochester,  New  York.  January,  1820,  and 
is  the  son  of  Alvin  and  Margaret  Hulbert.  His  father  was  a  hotel  man, 
keeping  "taverns"  in  Rochester  and  vicinity,  and  thus  Mr.  Hulbert  was 
literally  born  in  the  business  in  which  he  has  been  so  successful  and  made 
for  himself  such  an  enviable  name.  The  common  school  of  the  period 
furnished  him  with  all  the  book  education  he  ever  had,  but  his  natural 
energy  of  character  and  quickness  of  perception  readily  built  upon  this 


55°  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

imperfect  foundation,  and  secured  him  an  excellent  business  education. 

His  first  practical  identification  with  the  hotel  business  was  in  1850, 
when  he  entered  a  hotel  at  Avon  Springs,  New  York,  in  the  capacity  of 
clerk,  and  served  therein  for  three  successive  seasons.  He  next  became 
the  first  agent  of  the  railroad  which  was  constructed  through  Le  Roy, 
at  which  place  his  father,  at  the  time,  was  the  proprietor  of  a  hotel,  but 
not  liking  the  business,  we  next  find  him  in  a  clerkship  in  the  Eagle 
Hotel,  Rochester,  then  kept  by  Alderman  Dewey  Walbridge.  He  remained 
in  this  position  until  1857,  wrien  he  severed  his  connection  with  the  Eagle, 
and  going  to  Lafayette,  Indiana,  became  the  proprietor  of  a  hotel  in  that 
city.  Selling  out  his  business  in  Lafayette,  he  came  to  Chicago  in  1859, 
and  accepted  the  position  of  cashier  in  the  old  Sherman  House,  where 
he  remained  until  the  demolishment  of  that  house,  preparatory  to  rebuild- 
ing was  commenced,  when  he  became  cashier  of  the  old  Matteson  House, 
kept  by  C.  H.  Bissell,  afterward  his  partner  in  the  Sherman.  Upon  the 
completion  of  the  Sherman  he  resumed  his  position  as  cashier  of  the  house, 
under  Gage  &  Waite,  filling  that  position  until  April,  1865,  when  he 
became  the  cashier  of  the  Tremont  House,  remaining  here  until  the  great 
fire  of  1871.  Upon  the  rebuilding  of  the  Tremont  after  this  calamity, 
he  returned  to  it  and  became  its  manager. 

In  1875  Mr.  Hulbert  entered  into  a  co-partnership  with  C.  H.  Bissell, 
under  the  name  of  Bissell  &  Hulbert,  and  the  firm  became  the  proprietors 
of  the  Sherman  House.  This  co-partnership  continued  eight  months  and 
until  the  death  of  Mr.  Bissell,  which,  with  that  of  his  son,  was  caused  by 
a  railroad  accident  in  Vermont,  the  bodies  of  the  unfortunate  victims 
being  entirely  consumed  by  the  burning  of  a  sleeping  car.  After  this  sad 
and  unfortunate  event,  Mr.  Hulbert  purchased  the  interest  of  his  late 
partner  in  the  house,  and  has  since  been  the  sole  proprietor  of  the  Sher- 
man, which  under  his  management  has  become  one  of  the  most  popular 
and  famous  hotels  in  the  country,  commanding  a  patronage  which  is 
limited  only  by  the  extent  of  its  commodious  accommodations. 

In  the  Spring  of  1880  his  popularity  and  excellent  business  reputa- 
tion attracted  to  him  the  attention  of  the  Republicans  of  the  Twelfth 
Ward,  in  which  he  resides,  and  they  placed  him  in  nomination  for  the 
office  of  alderman,  to  which  he  was  elected  by  a  handsome  majority, 
and  of  which  he  is  proving  and  will  prove  a  judicious  and  valuable 
occupant.  A  city  cannot  have  too  many  such  men  in  the  official  positions 
which  it  has  to  fill. 

Mr.  Hulbert  was  married  at  Rochester,  New  York,  in  1868,  to  Emma 
T.  Drake,  and  there  have  been,  born  unto  them  five  children — Leila  M., 
born  1869;  Jessie.  D.,  born  1871;  Julia  T.,  born  1874;  Emma  Centennia, 
born  1876,  and  Alvin,  Jr.,  born  1878. 

The  unruffled  prosperity  which  has  attended  the  career  of  Mr.  Hul- 
bert has  been  eminently  merited,  and  the  high  esteem  in  which  he  is 
held,  not  only  in  Chicago,  but  among  the  thousands  who  know  him  in 
all  parts  of  the  country,  is  the  natural  result  of  his  uprightness  of  char- 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  551 

acter  and  urbanity  of  manner.  Of  the  Sherman  House  and  its  proprietor 
the  traveling  public  speak  in  terms  of  unstinted  praise,  and  although  the 
location  of  the  house  is  most  central  and  in  all  respects  favorably  situated, 
it  is  more  directly  indebted  for  its  high  position  among  the  first-class 
hotels  of  the  country,  to  the  executive  ability  and  generous  management 
of  its  proprietor,  than  to  anything  else. 

Personally,  Mr.  Hulbert  is  a  gentleman  of  commanding  physique, 
looks  much  younger  than  he  really  is,  and  is  a  picture  of  fine  health,  and 
of  the  traits  of  character  which  distinguish  him.  In  the  prime  of  life, 
many  years  are  still  before  him,  in  which  his  friends  and  the  public  expect 
that  he  will  make  the  even  and  satisfactory  progress  that  he  has  made  in 
the  past. 


552 


CHAPTER  XLIII. 


BRIEF    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES. 

It  would  require  a  huge  volume  to  contain  even  the  names  of  the 
men  who  in  the  city  of  Chicago  have  achieved  enduring  fame  during 
the  last  fifty  years;  and  almost  without  exception  they  have  been  men 
who  have  fought  the  battle  of  life  single  handed,  or  in  other  words,  have 
been  self-made  men  in  the  strictest  sense  of  the  term.  Many  of  them 
are  yet  young  in  years,  but  some  of  them  have  long  since  reached  the 
top  of  the  hill  and  are  now  near  the  valley  on  the  other  side.  John 
Wentworth  has  achieved  a  national  reputation,  and  rendered  the  city  of 
his  adoption  signal  service,  for  which  it  reverences  his  name.  During 
an  exceedingly  active  life,  a  large  portion  of  which  has  been  passed  in 
official  position,  Mr.  Wentworth  is  universally  accounted  an  unswervingly 
honest  man,  and  his  fame  is  not  clouded  by  the  faintest  shadow  of  scandaL 
He  was  born  in  Sandwich,  New  Hampshire,  March  5th,  1815,  and  is 
consequently  now  in  his  sixty-seventh  year.  He  came  to  Chicago  in 
1836,  has  been  Mayor  of  the  city,  a  representative  to  Congress,  and  an 
exceedingly  prominent  man  during  his  entire  career  in  the  West.  Begin- 
ning without  capital,  except  an  excellent  mind  and  strong  character,  he 
has  won  not  only  fame,  but  has  accumulated  fortune,  and  is  now  one  of  the 
most  wealthy  of  our  citizens.  Of  late  years  he  has  not  held  public  office, 
but  his  counsel  is  invariably  sought  in  emergencies  which  affect  the  public 
interests. 

Dr.  George  E.  Shipman  is  a  man  of  entirely  different  stamp  from 
Mr.  Wentworth,  but  is  a  citizen  who  has  not  only  served  his  city  well,, 
but  in  so  doing  has  proven  a  ministering  angel  to  helpless  humanity.  It 
is  to  his  efforts  that  the  existence  of  that  most  excellent  institution,  the 
Foundlings'  Home,  is  due,  and  it  is  to  his  patience  and  executive  ability 
that  it  owes  its  efficiency.  Finely  cultured  and  with  that  profound 
knowledge  of  medical  science  which  would  have  insured  him  a  most 
lucrative  practice,  he  sacrificed  all  the  glowing  prospects  of  wealth,  and 
its  accompaniments  to  establish  "his  home  for  the  care  of  the  helpless 
and  the  disowned,  thus  not  only  mercifully  ministering  to  the  necessities 
of  a  class  which  was  unable  to  care  for  itself,  but  also  preventing  a  large 
amount  of  crime  in  the  community.  Dr.  Shipman  is  now  sixty-one  years 
of  age,  having  been  born  in  the  city  of  New  York,  March  4th,  1820,  and 
no  man  deserves  better  of  his  fellow  citizens,  or  enjoys  more  of  their 
esteem  and  confidence. 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  553 

Among  our  most  enterprising  and  deserving  men  of  to-day  is  General 
Alexander  McClurg,  a  member  of  the  great  book  firm  of  Janse'n,  McClurg 
&  Compahy,  the  leading  book  house  of  the  West,  and  a  rival  of  some 
of  the  oldest  in  the  country.  A  Philadelphian  by  birth  and  education, 
he  is  imbued  with  those  clear  cut  principles  which  distinguish  the  Quaker 
City,  and  to  these  owes  much  of  his  success  in  life.  The  business  in 
which  he  is  engaged  demands  peculiarities  of  mind  and  character  which 
no  other  mercantile  avocation  requires.  The  highest  success  in  this  line 
can  be  achieved  only  by  one  who  has  culture  of  mind  and  literary  inclina- 
tions, both  of  which  are  characteristics  of  General  McClurg.  He  early 
possessed  himself  of  a  classical  education,  and  spent  some  time  in  the 
study  of  law,  but  his  health  failing,  he  decided  to  leave  home  and  seek 
his  fortune  in  the  West.  Accordingly  he  arrived  in  Chicago  in  the 
Autumn  of  1859,  and  immediately  identified  himself  with  the  house  of 
which  he  is  at  present  part  proprietor,  themknown,  however,  under  the 
name  of  S.  C.  Griggs  &  Company.  During  the  war  of  the  rebellion  he 
entered  the  military  service  of  his  country,  as  a  private,  and  rose  to  the 
rank  of  Adjutant  General.  His  career  has  been  a  thoroughly  honorable 
and  useful  one  not  only  to  Chicago  and  the  West  but  to  the  entire 
country. 

Samuel  C.  Griggs,  the  senior  member  of  the  firm  above  alluded  to,  and 
now  one  of  our  oldest  citizens,  is  a  native  of  Tolland  county,  Connecticut. 
When  only  twenty  years  of  age  he  embarked  in  the  book  trade  at  Hamil- 
ton, New  York,  and  although  without  pecuniary  means,  his  peculiar 
fitness  for  the  business  was  so  marked  that  in  six  years  he  not  only 
established  a  fine  business,  but  found  that  he  could  fill  a  much  larger  sphere 
of  usefulness.  Not  only  did  he  learn  this,  but  as  is  usually  the  case  when 
young  men  exhibit  prominent  talents,  others  learned  it,  and  among  them 
a  prominent  New  York  publisher,  who  offered  Mr.  Griggs  an  equal 
partnership  in  his  house.  This  Mr.  Griggs  declined,  but  accepted  an 
offer  from  the  same  gentleman  to  enter  into  a  co-partnership  in  Chicago. 
In  compliance  with  this  arrangement  he  came  here  in  1848,  and  estab- 
lished the  house  which  became  so  famous  under  the  name  of  S.  C.  Griggs 
&  Company,  and  still  maintains  its  high  reputation  under  the  name  of 
Jansen,  McClurg  &  Company.  He  is  now  retired,  and  is  in  the  enjoy- 
ment of  his  well  earned  wealth,  and  as  a  citizen  and  Christian  commands 
the  respect  of  the  entire  community. 

Franc  B.  Wilkie,  at  present  editor  of  THE  CHICAGO  TIMES,  residing 
in  London,  England,  has  made  his  mark  as  a  journalist,  which  compara- 
tively few  in  this  country  have  ever  equaled.  He  was  born  July  2d,  1832, 
in  West  Charlton,  Saratoga  county,  New  York,  and  has  risen  from  low 
station  to  his  present  prominence.  When  thirteen  years  old  he  ran  away 
from  home,  and  became  a  driver  on  the  Erie  Canal  for  a  season,  at  the 
close  of  which,  having  been  cheated  out  of  his  wages,  he  went  to  New 
York  City.  Here  for  two  years  he  bravely  fought  against  poverty, 
selling  matches,  newspapers,  running  errands,  holding  horses,  and  doing 


554  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

anything  honorable  that  presented.  In  his  early  days,  too,  he  was  by 
turns  farmer  and  blacksmith,  and  whatever  he  undertook  he  did  well- 
But  in  the  midst  of  all  his  checkered  career,  hardships  and  discourage- 
ments, he  was  a  constant  student  and  a  great  reader.  In  1855,  having 
fitted  himself  for  college  unaided,  he  entered  Union  College.  His  first 
newspaper  experience  was  as  editor  of  the  DAILY  STAR,  at  Schenectady, 
New  York,  at  a  salary  of  four  dollars  per  week.  In  1856,  he  and  a  friend 
commenced  the  publication  of  the  DAILY  NEWS,  at  Davenport,  Iowa, 
but  neither  having  much  practical  experience  or  capital,  the  venture 
proved  a  failure  in  the  panic  of  the  following  year,  and  the  paper  was 
disposed  of.  In  the  Summer  of  1858,  he  published  a  campaign  paper  in 
the  interests  of  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  at  Elgin,  Illinois,  and  in  the  Autumn 
of  the  same  year  he  became  connected  with  the  HERALD,  at  Dubuque, 
Iowa.  He  now  began  to  establish  a  reputation  as  a  brilliant  writer,  and 
during  the  war,  as  an  armygcorrespondent,  this  reputation  was  most  firmly 
established.  Since  1863  he  has  been  connected  with  THE  TIMES,  and 
now  represents  it  in  London. 

George  M.  Pullman  was  born  March  3d,  1831,  in  Chautauqtia  county, 
New  York.  At  an  early  age  he  commenced  business  life  in  a  furniture 
establishment  at  Albion,  in  his  native  State,  soon  developing  traits  of 
enterprise  and  industry.  Upon  the  death  of  his  father  the  care  and  sup- 
port of  the  family  devolved  upon  him,  and  was,  perhaps,  the  immediate 
cause  of  his  seeking  a  wider  and  more  profitable  field  of  enterprise.  He 
contracted  with  the  State  to  raise  buildings  along  the  line  of  the  enlarge- 
ment of  the  Erie  Canal,  and  was  engaged  in  this  for  about  four  years. 
At  the  end  of  that  time  he  removed  to  Chicago,  arriving  here  in  1859, 
and  entered  upon  the  work  of  bringing  the  city  up  to  grade.  At  about 
this  time,  too,  he  became  connected  with  the  sleeping  car  interests,  his 
attention  having  been  attracted  to  the  subject  of  providing  better  sleeping 
accommodation  for  travelers,  in  the  Spring  of  1859.  His  first  effort  in 
this  line  was  to  fit  up  with  berths  two  old  cars  on  the  Chicago  &  Alton 
road.  From  this  small  beginning  the  business  has  developed  until 
magnificent  car  palaces  are  upon  every  road.  The  fame  of  Pullman  is 
world-wide,  and  his  fortune  large. 

Robert  Collyer,  while  not  now  a  resident  of  Chicago,  was  such  for 
so  long  a  time,  that  the  city  feels  that  it  has  something  of  proprietorship 
in  him,  and  his  life  is  such  a  marvelous  development  of  sterling  worth 
from  a  very  unpromising  commencement,  that  a  few  words  in  regard  to 
it  in  this  connection  seems  eminently  appropriate,  and  will  certainly  be 
very  instructive.  Mr.  Collyer  is  a  native  of  Yorkshire,  England,  and 
was  born  December  8th,  1823.  His  father  was  a  blacksmith,  and  the  son 
learned  the  same  trade,  at  which  he  worked  until  he  emigrated  to 
America,  in  1850.  Upon  his  arrival  here  he  settled  in  a  suburb  of  Phila- 
delphia, and  entered  upon  the  business  of  hammer  making.  Early  in 
life  he  had  become  identified  with  the  Methodist  Church,  and  even 
in  England  was  what  was  called  a  lay  preacher.  In  this  country  he  con. 


CHICAGO  ANF>  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  555 

tinued  the  work  of  an  exhorter  while  he  labored  at  his  business.  He 
was  self-educated,  and  through  close  application  to  reading  and  study,  his 
information  was  considerable.  His  theological  inclinations  were  toward 
liberality,  and  he  finally  got  so  far  from  the  tenets  of  the  Methodist 
denomination,  that  the  Conference,  in  January,  1859,  deprived  him  of  his 
license  to  preach.  That  same  year  he  came  to  Chicago  to  take  charge 
of  the  "ministry  at  large"  under  the  auspices  of  the  Unitarian  Congrega- 
tionalists.  In  May,  of  that  year,  he  began  to  preach  for  Unity  Church, 
and  occupied  the  position  of  pastor  to  that  church  until  quite  recently, 
when  he  accepted  a  call  to  New  York.  He  was  one  of  the  most  popular 
ministers  and  most  popular  men  in  Chicago.  He  rose  by  the  strength 
of  his  intellect,  the  purity  of  his  character,  and  his  industry,  to  the  highest 
round  of  the  ladder,  and  he  began  at  the  very  bottom.  He  was  married 
before  coming  to  America,  and  his  wife  has  passed  through  all  the  vary- 
ing scenes  which  have  distinguished  his  life,  and  now  enjoys  with  him 
his  brilliant  fame. 

Silas  B.  Cobb  is  another  of  our  self-made  men  and  most  substantial 
citizens.  He  was  born  in  Montpelier,  Vermont,  January  23d,  1812.  He 
had  but  limited  opportunities  for  acquiring  an  education,  but  through 
perseverance  he  succeeded  in  gaining  sufficient  knowledge,  in  and  out  of 
school,  for  all  mere  practical  purposes.  When  a  boy  he  was  apprenticed 
to  the  shoemaker's  trade,  but  he  soon  became  disgusted  with  that,  and 
leaving  his  employer  returned  home.  He  was  then  placed  to  learn  the 
trade  of  a  mason,  but  this  did  not  suit  him  either,  and  his  parents  then 
wisely  concluded  that  they  had  better  leave  him  to  make  his  own  selec- 
tion of  a  trade,  which  he  did,  and  learned  that  of  a  harness  maker.  In 
course  of  time  he  became  his  own  master,  and  worked  as  a  journeyman 
in  his  native  town.  Upon  attaining  his  majority  he  concluded  to  come 
West.  Upon  arriving  in  Chicago,  he  obtained  employment  for  a  few 
weeks  as  a  boss  carpenter,  although  totally  ignorant  of  the  business. 
However,  he  directed  the  workmen,  and  by  keeping  them  at  work,  thus, 
probably,  really  earned  the  two  dollars  and  seventy-five  cents  a  day 
which  he  was  to  receive.  It  was  finally  discovered,  however,  that  Mr. 
Cobb  was  not  a  practical  carpenter,  and  he  was  paid  off  and  dismissed. 
The  amount  that  he  had  earned  was  forty  dollars,  and  that  was  all  the 
money  he  had;  in  fact  all  that  did  not  belong  to  him,  for  he  owed  some 
borrowed  money,  which  he  promptly  paid.  He  now  hit  upon  the  idea 
of  buying  up  the  little  stores  and  trinkets  which  emigrants  from  the  East 
brought  with  them  for  sale,  and  to  sell  them  by  auction  to  the  Indians 
and  half-breeds.  In  this  manner  he  soon  accumulated  enough  to  enable 
him  to  launch  out  more  widely,  and  building  a  frame  structure,  he  opened 
a  harness  shop,  and  here  really  began  his  highly  successful  business 
career.  In  1847  he  sold  out  his  shop  and  entered  the  boot,  shoe,  leather 
and  hide  business.  After  three  years  of  successful  business  in  this  line, 
he  retired  from  mercantile  pursuits,  and  has  since  devoted  his  time  princi- 
pally to  making  investments,  or  managing  large  corporations.  He  has 


556  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

been  the  Managing  Director  of  the  Chicago  Gaslight  and  Coke  Company, 
and  has  held  prominent  positions  in  railroad  and  insurance  enterprises. 
Of  late  years,  until  quite  recently,  he  has  been  the  President  of  the  South 
Side  horse  railroad  company,  which  owes  its  prosperity  largely  to  his 
ability  and  enterprise.  Mr.  Cobb  is  very  wealthy. 

Ellis  Sylvester  Chesbrough,  the  engineer  who  constructed  the  tunnel 
which  is  a  part  of  Chicago's  water  system,  was  born  July  6th,  1813. 
When  only  nine  years  of  age  financial  reverses  overtook  his  father,  and 
the  son,  whom  the  father  had  intended  to  liberally  educate,  was  compelled 
to  give  up  his  books  and  to  apply  himself  to  toil.  But  he  was  quick  to 
learn,  and  while  he  labored  he  applied  himself  profitably  to  study.  From 
nine  to  fifteen  years  of  age,  his  duties  were  arduous,  and  he  did  not 
attend  school  more  than  a  year  during  the  whole  time.  Finally  he  was 
admitted  to  a  company  of  engineers  employed  on  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio 
railroad,  and  a  grand  field  of  knowledge  and  usefulness  was  opened  to 
him.  The  skilled  engineers  saw  in  the  boy  the  merit  which  he  really 
possessed,  and  his  anxiety  to  learn,  and  they  furnished  him  every  facility 
for  acquiring  a  knowledge  of  the  business.  In  1830,  after  two  years  of 
service,  he  left  the  employ  of  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  railroad,  and  entered 
the  service  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  in  the  survey  of  the  then  pro- 
jected Alleghany  Portage  railroad.  In  1831  he  joined  the  engineer  corps 
of  General  William  G.  McNeill,  at  Paterson,  New  Jersey,  with  which 
he  remained  for  eleven  years,  during  which  he  was  engaged  in  the  duties 
of  his  profession  on  the  Paterson  &  Hudson  River,  the  Boston  &  Provi- 
dence and  the  Louisville,  Charleston  &  Cincinnati  railroads.  He  was 
the  engineer  who  superintended  the  construction  of  the  Cochituate  water 
works  in  Boston.  In  1855  he  received  the  appointment  of  Chief  Engineer 
of  the  Board  of  Sewerage  Commissioners  of  Chicago,  and  in  October 
of  that  year  entered  upon  the  discharge  of  the  duties  of  that  position. 
In  1861  he  was  appointed  Chief  Engineer  of  the  Board  of  Public  Works. 
Two  years  later  his  title  was  changed  to  City  Engineer.  The  Chicago 
water  system  is  the  grandest  of  all  his  achievements. 

Joseph  Russell  Jones,  President  of  the  West  Division  Railway 
Company,  was  born  in  Conneaut,  Ohio,  February  lyth,  1823.  His  father 
dying  when  the  son  was  little  more  than  a  year  old,  left  his  widow  and 
young  family  with  but  slender  means  of  support.  When  Joseph  was  thirteen 
years  of  age  his  mother  removed  to  Brockton,  Winnebago  county,  Illinois, 
and  he  was  placed  in  a  store  in  his  native  town.  After  two  years  of  ser- 
vice here,  he  determined  to  join  his  mother,  and  landed  ia  Chicago  on 
the  nineteenth  of  August,  1838.  Thence  he  went  to  Brockton,  and 
remained  with  the  family  for  two  years.  In  June,  1840,  he  went  to 
Galena,  his  entire  capital  consisting  of  one  dollar.  Here  he  clerked  it 
for  awhile  and  was  finally  admitted  to  a  partnership  with  his  employer. 
He  has  filled  the  offices  of  representative  in  the  General  Assembly  and 
Linked  States  Marshal  for  the  Northern  District  of  Illinois.  He  is  now 
among  the  wealthiest  men  of  the  city. 


557 


MARK  SKINNER. 


Mark  Skinner  was  born  at  Manchester,  Vermont,  September  I3th, 
1813.  His  family  connections  date  back  to  the  very  earliest  days  of  New 
England  history,  and,  upon  the  maternal  side,  through  the  Pierpoints,  he 
is  connected  with  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  famous  of  the  great  historic 
families  of  England.  His  mother  was  the  daughter  of  Robert  Pierpoint, 
and  a  double  cousin  of  John  Pierpoint,  the  poet.  His  father,  Richard  Skin- 
ner, was  a  man  of  eminence,  distinguished  alike  for  his  legal  and  political 
abilities,  whose  name  is  prominent  in  the  history  of  Vermont,  having 
held  the  various  offices  of  State's  Attorney  for  the  county  of  Bennington, 
Judge  of  Probate  for  the  northern  district  of  the  same  county,  member 
of  the  legislature,  Governor  of  the  State,  member  of  Congress,  and  for 
many  years  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State. 

The  son  fitted  himself  for  college  and  entered  the  University  of 
Vermont,  at  Middlebury,  in  1830,  and  graduated  in  1833,  having  matricu- 
lated in  advance  of  his  class.  Inheriting  from  his  father  a  predilection 
for  the  law,  immediately  upon  his  graduation  he  marked  out  for  himself 
the  same  professional  course  which  his  father  had  pursued  with  such 
marked  success,  and  from  1833  to  1836,  studied  his  profession,  at  Saratoga 
Springs,  with  Judge  Ezek  Cowen,  the  eminent  jurist  and  author,  and 
Nicholas  Hill,  one  of  the  most  accomplished  lawyers  in  the  annals  of  the 
New  Yoyk  bar.  One  year  of  the  three  was  spent  at  the  New  Haven 
Law  School,  attached  to  Yale  College,  under  the  instruction  of  Judges 
Dagget  and  Hitchcock.  At  the  expiration  of  his  term  of  study,  he  was 
contemplating  a  co-partnership  with  Mr.  Hill,  but  tempting  pecuniary 
affairs,  with  other  circumstances,  combined  to  change  these  plans,  and  his 
attention  was  drawn  westward  to  the  young  city  of  Chicago. 

He  came  to  CU  cago  in  July,  1836.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of 
Illinois  immediately  upon  his  arrival,  and  entered  upon  the  active  practice 
of  the  law  in  the  Autumn  of  that  year,  associated  with  George  A.  O. 
Beaumont,  as  partner.  In  1839-40,  during  the  mayoralty  of  Alexander 
Loyd,  he  was  elected  City  Attorney,  and  transacted  the  law  business  of 
the  city  with  eminent  success.  He  was  Master  in  Chancery  for  Cook 
county  for  many  years,  but  his  first  purely  political  appointment  was  that 
of  United  States  District  Attorney,  by  President  Tyler,  to  succeed  Hon- 
orable Justin  Butterfield,  the  district  then  embracing  the  entire  State. 
Having  held  the  office  and  familiarized  himself  with  its  routine  of  duties, 


558  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

it  was  only  natural  that  he  should  desire  to  retain  it,  and  when  Mr.  Folk's 
administration  came  in,  he  sought  a  second  term,  his  claim  being  contested 
by  Honorable  I.  N.  Arnold.  The  contest  between  the  two  applicants 
was  a  very  protracted  and  animated  one — so  animated,  indeed,  that  a 
compromise  was  effected  by  conferring  the  office  upon  a  third  party — but 
the  struggle  had  given  Mr.  Skinner  a  satisfactory  view  of  the  descents 
a  man  must  make  to  obtain  the  Federal  patronage,  and  he  resolved  that 
this  struggle  for  Federal  office  should  be  his  last. 

Mr.  Skinner  was  elected  a  member  of  the  legislature  in  1846,  the 
session  being  held  from  the  first  Monday  in  December,  1846,  until  March 
ist,  1847.  ^e  was  made  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Finance,  at 
that  time  the  most  important  committee  in  the  House.  During  the  time 
that  he  occupied  this  position,  he  drew  up  and  procured  the  passage 
through  the  House  of  a  bill  re-funding  the  State  debt — a  bill  which  was 
far-reaching  in  its  influence  upon  the  finances  of  the  State.  It  reduced 
all  the  multiplied  forms  of  State  indebtedness — there  being  six  or  eight 
different  styles  of  State  bonds — into  convenient  and  manageable  shape, 
ascertained  the  limit  of  the  debt,  and  effectually  cut  off  the  possibility 
of  frauds  in  emitting  new  and  unauthorized  bonds. 

In  1851,  Mr.  Skinner  was  elected  Judge  of  the  Cook  County  Court 
of  Common  Pleas,  now  the  Superior  Court  of  the  City  of  Chicago,  over 
John  M.  Wilson,  the  opposition  candidate,  and  declined  a  re-election  in 
1853,  on  account  of  ill-health. 

We  now  come  to  another  phase  of  Judge  Skinner's  life,  impersonal 
in  its  results,  but  one  of  the  most  important  in  his  career  as  a  public 
citizen.  On  the  ninth  of  January,  1861,  the  Secretary  of  War  issued  an 
order,  appointing  certain  gentlemen  "a  Commission  of  Inquiry  and  Ad- 
vice in  respect  of  the  Sanitary  Interests  of  the  United  States  Forces." 
Four  prominent  citizens  of  Chicago  were  named  by  this  Commission  to 
be  associate  members,  but  it  soon  appeared  they  were  unable,  on  account 
of  professional  engagements,  to  bestow  the  requisite  time  and  attention 
upon  sanitary  duties.  At  this  juncture,  Dr.  J.  S.  New  bury,  "Associate 
Secretary  for  the  West,"  arrived  in  Chicago  and  endeavored  to  organize 
the  associate  members  into  a  Branch  Commission,  but  this  project  also 
failed,  for  similar  reasons.  Subsequently,  at  a  meeting  of  citizens  called 
by  E.  W.  Blatchford,  the  associate  members  appointed  by  the  United 
States  Sanitary  Commission  publicly  resigned  their  positions,  and  all 
present  united  in  choosing  "a  committee  of  seven,  to  constitute  the 
Sanitary  Commission  of  Chicago."  The  committee  was  composed  of 
the  following  gentlemen:  Mark  Skinner,  Reverend  W.  W.  Patton,  D.  D., 
Reverend  O.  H.- Tiffany,  D.  D.,  E.  W.  Blatchford,  Ralph  N.  Isham,  M. 
D.,  Colonel  J.  D.  Foster,  and  James  Ward.  On  the  same  evening,  the 
committee  went  into  session  and  effected  an  organization,  by  electing 
Judge  Skinner,  President;  Reverend  O.  H.  Tiffany,  D.  D.,  Vice  Presi- 
dent, and  E.  WT.  Blatchford,  Corresponding  Secretary.  Thus  the  "Chicago 
Sanitary  Commission,"  afterward,  when  it  had  grown  from  a  local  to  a 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  559 

general  organization,  styled  the  "Northwestern  Sanitary  Commission," 
had  its  origin.  Mr.  Skinner  held  this  responsible  position  until  the  early 
part  of  1864,  performing  all  the  arduous  and  exacting  duties  of  his  posi- 
tion without  any  pecuniary  compensation,  direct  or  indirect,  when  he 
was  obliged  to  resign  on  account  of  a  dangerous  and  protracted  attack 
of  typhoid  fever. 

In  the  organization  and  direction  of  charitable  institutions,  also,  Judge 
Skinner  has  always  been  prominent.  He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the 
Chicago  Reform  School,  and  was  made  first  President  of  the  Board  of 
Directors,  a  position  for  which  he  was  eminently  qualified,  and  which  he 
held  for  many  years.  To  the  organization  of  this  excellent  institution 
he  devoted  his  time  and  personal  attention  without  stint.  He  visited  and 
inspected  all  the  prominent  reformatory  institutions  of  the  Eastern 
and  Middle  States,  and  carefully  studied  the  documentary  records  of 
similar  schools  in  England,  France  and  Germany.  The  result  was  a  clear 
conviction  that  the  family  system  of  reforming  juvenile  offenders  was 
infinitely  preferable  to  the  congregated  system  in  practice  in  this  country. 
He  labored  zealously  to  effect  this  change,  and  finally  succeeded  in  graft- 
ing the  system  upon  our  own  institution. 

Judge  Skinner  has  also  been  actively  identified  with  the  railroad 
interests  of  Chicago,  and  by  his  clear  judgment  and  financial  ability  has 
done  much  to  perfect  that  great  system  of  transportation  and  travel  which, 
more  than  all  else,  has  conduced  to  give  Chicago  its  present  commercial 
greatness.  His  efforts  in  this  direction  were  more  especially  given  to  the 
old  Galena  and  the  Chicago,  Burlington  &  Quincy  roads,  in  each  of 
which  he  has  been  a  Director. 


560 


ELISHA  S.  WADSWORTH. 


Elisha  S.  Wadsworth  was  born  in  New  Hartford,  Connecticut,  May 
loth,  1813.  His  father  was  Tertius  Wadsworth,  who  was  actively 
engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits  during  most  of  his  life,  and  died  in  Hart- 
ford in  1872.  The  early  part  of  the  life  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch-was 
spent  in  Connecticut,  where  he  received  a  good  education.  He  removed 
to  Chicago  in  the  Summer  of  1836,  and  engaged  in  moneyed  and  real 
estate  transactions,  in  company  with  his  brother,  Julius  Wadsworth, 
and  the  late  Thomas  Dyer. 

In  1839  Mr.  Wadsworth  embarked  in  the  wholesale  dry  goods 
business  in  Chicago,  with  his  brother  Julius,  under  the  firm  name 
of  E.  S.  &  J.  Wadsworth,  which  business  was  continued  until  1841,  when 
his  brother  went  to  Europe,  and  on  his  return,  in  1842,  a  new  firm  was 
organized  under  the  name  of  Wadsworth,  Dyer  &  Chapin,  who  for  sev- 
eral years  were  engaged  in  the  largest  mercantile  and  produce  operations 
of  any  firm  in  Chicago.  In  1846,  his  brother  Julius  having  disposed  of 
his  interest  in  the  Chicago  business,  established  himself  in  New  York,  and 
Elisha  continued  the  wholesale  business  in  connection  with  W.  H.  Phelps, 
under  the  name  of  Wadsworth,  Phelps  &  Company.  At  a  subsequent 
period  Francis  B.  Cooley,  of  Hartford,  Connecticut,  became  a  partner 
in  the  business,  and  the  firm  name  was  changed  to  Cooley,  Wadsworth 
&  Company,  and  continued  business  under  that  name  until  1852,  when 
John  V.  Farwell,  who  had  occupied  the  position  of  book-keeper  in  the 
house,  was  admitted  as  a  partner,  and  the  name  of  the  firm  was  changed 
to  Cooley,  Farwell  &  Company.  In  1861  Mr.  Wadsworth  sold  out  his 
interest  in  the  mercantile  business  to  his  partners,  and  discontinued 
his  active  connection  with  the  house.  His  interest  in  the  old  firm,  how- 
ever, became  the  subject  of  serious  litigation  with  his  former  partners, 
growing  out  of  misunderstanding  in  relation  to  their  individual  accounts. 
These  differences,  however,  were  finally  adjusted,  and  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  retired  from  commercial  pursuits. 

After  his  retirement  he  engaged  in  some  real  estate  and  other  enter- 
prises until  his  failing  health  rendered  it  necessary  for  him  to  entirely 
withdraw  from  active  business.  He  was  one  of  the  projectors  of  the 
Galena  &  Chicago  Union  railroad,  and  for  several  years  one  of  its  direc- 
tors. He  was  president  of  the  branch  road  extending  to  Aurora,  which 
branch  now  forms  part  of  the  Chicago,  Burlington  &  Quincy  railroad. 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  561 

He  was  also  one  of  the  projectors  of  the  Chicago  &  Milwaukee  rail- 
road, and  a  director  in  the  company  up  to  the  time  when  it  was  absorbed 
by  the  Chicago  &  Northwestern  Railway  Company.  He  was  also  one 
of  the  parties  connected  with  the  construction  of  the  new  railroad  from 
Chicago  to  Milwaukee,  which  was  subsequently  absorbed  by  the  Chicago> 
Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul  Railway  Company. 

Since  his  retirement  from  active  business,  he  has  been  occupied  in 
conducting  some  agricultural  affairs,  for  which  pursuit  in  early  life  he  had 
great  taste.  His  active  connection  with  the  leading  enterprises  of  the 
city  of  Chicago  for  the  past  forty  years,  brought  him  in  contact  with 
the  leading  business  men  in  this  country,  and  his  character  for  strict 
integrity  and  high  moral  sense  was  always  recognized  as  of  the  highest 
standard. 

Mr.  Wadsworth  is  one  of  four  brothers,  of  which  he  is  the  oldest. 
His  next  younger  brother,  Julius  Wadsworth,  has  for  the  past  thirty 
years  resided  in  New  York,  and  is  at  present  the  Vice  President  of  the 
Chicago,  Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul  Railway  Company,  and  at  the  head  of 
the  financial  management  of  that  great  enterprise.  His  two  younger 
brothers,  T.  Walter  Wadsworth  and  Philip  Wadsworth,  reside  in  Chi- 
cago, and  are  engaged  in  active  business  pursuits. 

Mr.  Wadsworth  was  married  at  Hadley,  Massachusetts,  in  1842,  to 
Charlotte,  fourth  daughter  of  Reverend  John  Woodbridge,  D.  D.,  and  has 
four  surviving  children,  one  daughter  and  three  sons.  His  oldest  son,  Elisha 
S.  Wadsworth,  was  a  volunteer  in  the  Union  army  for  the  defense  of  his 
country  against  the  Southern  rebellion.  He  rose  to  the  rank  of  Captain 
of  Volunteers;  but  about  the  close  of  the  war  contracted  disease  in  the 
South  and  died  in  1866,  having  given  his  life  to  maintain  the  government 
which  his  ancestors  fought  to  establish. 


56- 


JOHN   KNIFFIN   RUSSELL. 

In  the  subject  of  the  following  sketch  we  find  the  elements  of  success 
in  life  and  of  useful  and  ornamental  manhood  developed  to  an  unusual 
degree.  With  a  limited  book  education,  his  natural  strength  and  quick- 
ness of  intellect  and  energy  of  character  readily  overcame  this  deficiency, 
and  his  integrity  won  universal  confidence  and  insured  him  against  failure 
in  the  undertakings  of  life.  While  education  is  desirable,  as  one  of  the 
strong  weapons  in  the  arena  of  business,  it  is  nevertheless  a  fact  that  not 
only  in  Chicago,  but  in  the  world  at  large,  the  men  who  have  made  the 
most  pronounced  impression  upon  their  times  and  succeeded  best,  have 
been  those  whose  early  education  was  neglected  to  a  greater  or  less  extent. 
But  this  does  not  argue  that  they  were  uneducated.  Ignorance  cannot 
keep  abreast  with  intelligence  in  the  hotly  contested  race  of  business 
activity,  and  whenever  a  man  is  found  who  has  raised  himself  above  the 
level,  in  influence  or  wealth,  it  will  be  concluded  that  although  his  experi- 
ence in  the  school-house  may  have  been  exceedingly  limited,  he  has 
succeeded  by  arduous  application,  and  with  experience  as  a  teacher,  in 
learning  what  others  may  have  secured  under  more  favorable  circum- 
stances. Such  men  have  absolutely  carved  their  own  way  to  position 
and  fortune,  and  whatever  they  have  accomplished  is  a  monument  to 
human  pluck  and  character  and  an  evidence  of  natural  endowments  of 
superior  power  and  brilliancy.  It  is  of  such  a  man  that  we  now  write — • 
One  who  has  set  a  fine  example  to  the  world,  not  only  in  the  exhibition 
of  remarkable  enterprise,  which  has  been  crowned  with  abundant  success, 
but  also  as  a  conscientious  and  upright  member  of  society,  faithfully  dis- 
charging all  the  duties  which  the  various  relations  of  life  impose. 

John  Kniffin  Russell  is  one  of  a  family  of  twelve  children,  eight  of 
whom  are  still  living,  and  is  the  son  of  Timothy  D.  Russell  and  Eliza  Tate. 
His  father  was  born  in  Utica,  New  York,  the  grandfather  of  our  subject 
being  one  of  the  first  settlers  in  that  place,  and  built  either  the  first  or 
second  house  in  it.  The  family  was  of  sterling  Massachusetts  and  Con- 
necticut stock,  and  the  great  grandfather  of  our  subject  linked  his  name 
with  the  struggle  for  American  independence,  being  a  faithful  captain 
in  the  Continental  army.  Wrhen  the  wife  of  this  old  revolutionary  hero 
was  nearly  a  hundred  years  old,  she  endeavored  to  secure  from  the  gov- 
ernment the  back  pay  due  him,  but  failed  by  reason  of  his  commission — 
the  necessary  evidence  of  service — having  been  destroyed  by  fire.  The 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  563 

father  of  our  subject  finally  settled  in  the  British  Provinces,  and  he  was 
born  in  Prince  Edward  county,  Ontario,  in  1825.  When  John  was  but 
six  years  of  age  the  family  removed  to  a  location  about  fifty  miles  east 
of  Toronto,  Canada,  and  settled  in  an  unbroken  forest,  a  fact  which  will 
account  for  the  imperfection  of  early  education  to  which  reference  has 
been  made.  The  children  were  compelled  to  travel  to  a  log  school-house 
two  miles  distant,  in  which  the  only  source  of  warmth  was  a  fire  in  an 
open  fireplace  at  one  end  of  the  room.  The  teacher,  however,  was 
accustomed  to  say  that  such  an  arrangement  was  not  without  compensa- 
tion, as  it  enabled  him  to  reward  studious  habits  by  permitting  the  scholar 
to  stand  with  his  back  to  the  fire.  Such  were  the  only  educational 
facilities,  however,  furnished,  and  these  were  enjoyed  for  only  two  or 
three  months  in  Winter.  But  however  limited  his  education,  he  was 
filled  with  the  spirit  of  independent  manhood  and  a  desire  to  make  his 
mark  in  the  world.  Neither  of  these  the  youth  believed  was  consistent 
with  a  residence  in  Canada.  Born  in  a  foreign  dominion  but  of  Ameri- 
can parentage,  he  was  by  nature  an  American,  and  longed  to  identify 
himself  with  the  nation  his  ancestry  aided  in  establishing,  and  this  feeling 
was  constantly  strengthened  by  the  proscription  which  the  family  suffered 
at  the  hands  of  the  Canadians.  Consequently  leaving  home  with  only 
sixty-two  dollars  and  sixty-five  cents,  he  started  for  Chicago,  crossing 
Michigan  on  the  old  strap  rail  and  in  boat  to  New  Buffalo,  where  he 
landed  about  the  tenth  of  October,  1849,  anc^  trience  came  to  Chicago. 

The  first  Chicago  man  to  whom  he  spoke  was  Ira  Couch,  who  at 
the  time  was  standing  upon  the  roof  of  the  Tremont  House.  After  a  short 
stay  in  the  city,  he  went  twenty-eight  miles  out  on  the  Galena  &  Chicago 
Union  railroad,  and  thence  staged  it  to  the  then  ambitious  town  of  St. 
Charles,  and  from  there  went  to  the  still  more  important  town  of  Elgin, 
Here  he  had  the  pleasure  of  witnessing  the  pomp  and  circumstance 
attending  the  advent  of  the  railroad  into  the  place,  an  event  which  was 
greeted  with  the  ringing  of  bells,  flying  of  flags,  speeches  and  an  original 
poem  by  Attorney  Giffbrd. 

But  Elgin  did  not  seem  to  present  such  opportunities  to  the  young 
man  as  he  was  seeking,  so  on  the  first  day  of  April,  1850,  he  again 
entered  Chicago,  with  the  determination  to  make  it  the  place  of  perma- 
nent residence.  The  only  capital,  beside  a  good  sound  body,  excellent 
pluck,  and  as  he  often  expresses  it,  "a  boundless  stock  of  ignorance,"  was- 
four  dollars  and  fifty  cents,  just  enough  to  pay  one  week's  board  at  the 
Chicago  Temperance  House.  But  enterprising  industry  carried  him 
through,  and  in  the  Fall  of  1850,  he  and  Reuben  Cleveland  became 
associated  together,  and  commenced  business,  the  firm  being  known  as 
Cleveland  &  Russell.  At  first  the  concern  took  small  contracts  for  build- 
ing docks  on  the  river,  and  bridging,  and  in  fact  doing  anything  that 
offered.  Inexperience  thwarted  many  of  his  designs  and  often  curtailed 
the  profits  of  his  undertakings;  but  never  disheartened,  and  determined 
to  succeed,  he  courageously  accepted  his  defeats  and  always  struck  once 


564  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

more  for  victory.  Very  early,  however,  he  found  an  old  German 
draughtsman,  and  placed  himself  under  his  instruction,  believing  that  he 
had  found  at  last,  a  key  to  practical  knowledge,  and  that  proved  to  be  the 
fact. 

The  first  really  successful  effort  of  the  new  firm  was  in  the  construc- 
tion of  the  buildings  for  the  new  railroad  to  Rock  Island,  after  having 
had  some  experience  on  the  west  end  of  the  Lake  Shore  &  Michigan 
Southern  railroad,  under  the  venerable  and  celebrated  Chief  Engineer, 
John  B.  Jervis.  On  these  two  roads  they  made  a  considerable  gain  both 
in  means  and  experience. 

In  1853  the  entire  works  of  the  firm  were  destroyed  by  fire,  and 
they  received  no  insurance.  This  was  only  one  of  a  series  of  like  mis- 
fortunes which  afterward  befell  them.  In  November,  1856,  their  works 
were  again  entirely  destroyed;  in  June,  1860 — on  the  day  Mr.  Lincoln 
was  nominated  for  the  Presidency — another  like  catastrophe  occurred;  in 
December,  1868,  they  suffered  a  loss  by  fire  of  forty-five  thousand  dollars, 
and  in  November,  1868,  their  immense  mills  were  swept  out  of  existence 
by  the  fire  demon,  causing  a  loss  of  a  hundred  and  twenty-five  thousand 
dollars,  and  no  insurance.  Such  extraordinary  misfortune  was  well 
calculated  to  dishearten  even  as  courageous  a  man"  as  Mr.  Russell,  and 
although  the  cloud  for  a  moment  seemed  to  be  without  a  silvery  lining,  he 
soon  rallied.  Beside  these  conflagrations  the  firm  suffered  an  aggregate 
loss  of  fifty  thousand  dollars  from  smaller  fires  previous  to  1861.  Since 
his  last  large  loss,  Mr.  Russell's  firm  has  not  attempted  to  do  a  large 
business,  but  as  if  fated  to  be  followed  by  the  devouring  element,  he  had 
a  small  mill  consumed  in  1873 — resulting  in  a  total  loss — suffered  a  partial 
loss  of  his  mill  in  1876,  and  in  1877  a  storage  house  which  was  partially 
destroved  in  1874,  again  suffered  partial  destruction,  making  one  of  the 
most  astonishing  fire  records  that  ever  checkered  the  business  experience 
of  a  single  individual.  After  the  firm  of  Cleveland  &  Russell  was  dis- 
solved, Mr.  Samuel  I.  Russell,  a  brother  of  our  subject,  took  the  place 
of  the  retiring  partner,  and  remained  in  the  firm  for  a  period  of  fourteen 
years. 

Mr.  Russell's  business  enterprises  have  been  so  extensive  that  he  has 
had  but  little  time  or  inclination  to  accept  public  office,  but  he  was  induced 
to  allow  himself  to  be  elected  Supervisor  of  Cook  county,  in  1856,  and 
during  his  term  of  office  the  Board*  paid  fifteen  per  cent,  on  bonds  bear- 
ing ten  per  cent,  interest  because  the  county  had  the  surplus  money,  and 
could  save  about  fifteen  per  cent,  by  thus  doing  and  preventing  the  bonds 
from  maturing.  From  forty  thousand  to  fifty  thousand  dollars  was  also 
appropriated' during  his  term  of  office  for  the  purpose  of  raising  up  and 
adding  another  story  to  the  old  Court  House,  an  appropriation  which  in 
those  days  appeared  very  large. 

Our  subject  was  married  July  loth,  1856,  to  Mary  J.  Randall,  of 
Waukesha,  Wisconsin,  daughter  of  the  late  Phineas  Randall,  and  sister 
of  Ex-Post  Master  General  Alexander  W.  Randall,  who  was  also  the 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  565 

War  Governor  of  Wisconsin,  having  served  two  terms  in  that  office. 
Mrs.  Russell  is  also  a  sister  of  the  present  Chief  Justice  of  Florida.  They 
have  three  children:  Edwin  T.,  born  in  1857,  and  who  was  educated  at 
Williams  College;  Mary  Gertrude,  born  in  1862,  and  John  Kent,  born 
m  1865.  Their  daughter  Gertrude  possesses  great  musical  talent,  and  is 
already  an  excellent  pianist. 

Mr.  Russell  is  now  doing  quite  a  large  business,  and  he  is  accustomed 
to  attribute  his  success — which  has  been  great,  notwithstanding  the  fiery 
ordeal  through  which  he  has  passed — to  sticking  to  one  thing,  even 
through  losses  and  reverses,  and  in  good  times  and  bad  times,  and  to 
resolute  pluck  together  with  sterling  honesty.  Looking  back  upon  the 
record  of  an  active  business  life,  neither  he  nor  the  community  in  which 
he  has  so  long  lived,  can  find  a  shadow  to  mar  its  beauty  and  grandeur. 


566 


WILLIAM  TURTLE. 


The  subject  of  this  sketch,  the  well  known  Chicago  detective,  was 
born  November  27th,  1829,  at  Haddenham,  Isle  of  Ely,  Cambridgeshire, 
England,  being  the  youngest  son  of  Richard  Turtle  and  Lydia  Turtle, 
nee  Lydia  Wayman,  sister  of  Honorable  William  Wayman  of  this  District, 
the  male  progenitor  having  made  an  enviable  reputation  in  the  country 
as  a  proprietor  of  stage  coaches.  The  childhood  of  Captain  Turtle  was 
passed  in  his  native  shire,  where,  after  meeting  the  usual  vicissitudes  of 
youth,  he  entered  as  a  student  the  then  quite  famous  private  academy, 
Mr.  Thomas  Barber,  Principal,  at  Prospect  House,  Cambridge,  where 
he  remained  long  enough  to  complete  a  commercial  course  and  prepare 
for  college.  He  left  a  good  record  in  the  school,  and  carried  off  the  prize 
for  penmanship  at  his  last  examination. 

After  leaving  the  academy  the  young  Englishman  served  an  appren- 
ticeship to  the  dry  goods  business,  which  includes  much  more  th:m  is 
usually  classed  in  the  term  in  this  country.  This  calling  was  followed,  after 
the  expiration  of  his  season  of  probation,  by  a  visit  to  Holland  ami  Gei  - 
many  lasting  neai'ly  three  years,  returning  from  which  attention  was  once 
more  given  to  the  store  of  his  former  employer,  who  was  very  anxious 
that  the  young  man  should  give  over  wandering  and  remain  permanent!  y 
connected  with  his  establishment.  But  William  was  not  content  with 
merely  selling  ribbons,  laces,  needles  and  pins  behind  a  shopkeeper's 
counter.  His  ambition  reached  higher,  and  he  was  next  found,  some 
eighteen  months  after  arriving  from  the  continent,  preparing  the  founda- 
tion of  a  professional  success  in  the  police  line  of  duty  with  William 
Robinson,  Chief  Inspector  of  Police  at  Cambridge.  Even  here  he 
remained  only  long  enough  to  distinguish  himself  as  an  energetic,  hard- 
working officer,  and,  upon  receiving  a  handsome  offer  to  revisit  the  con- 
tinent, much  against  the  wishes  of  Inspector  Robinson,  he  went  once 
more  from  home.  Returning  to  England,  in  1850,  Mr.  Turtle's  former 
employer,  Mr.  Davis,  gave  him  no  opportunity  to  refuse,  acceding  to  all 
his  modest  demands,  and  the  young  man  re-entered  the  dry  goods  house, 
and  there  continued  until  he  made  up  his  mind  to  emigrate  to  America, 
a  year  or  so  later. 

Passing  over  much  that  might  be  found  interesting  in  this  imperfect 
history,  it  may  be  said  that  William  Turtle  came  to  Chicago  when  just 
past  his  twenty-second  year,  and  settling  at  Northfield,  C»ok  county, 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  567 

continued  his  residence  there  during  seven  years,  engaging  in  the  general 
provision  business.  For  some  years  he  was  a  popular  officer  in  that  part 
of  Cook  county,  filling  the  responsible  position  of  town  collector  the 
very  first  year  after  becoming  naturalized,  under  County  Treasurer 
Augustus  Boyington,  having  defeated  his  competitor,  Sterling  Sherman, 
Esq.  This  place,  with  that  of  deputy  postmaster  and  constable,  Mr. 
Turtle  retained  until  1861,  when  he  disposed  of  his  stock  in  trade  and 
removed  to  Chicago,  where  he  quickly  enrolled  himself  in  the  ranks  of 
the  municipal  police.  In  less  than  a  quarter  of  a  year  he  was  promoted 
to  the  position  of  Sergeant;  in  three  months  more  to  that  of  Captain  of 
the  West  Division  Police,  which  rank  he  acceptably  held  until  1864, 
when  he  was  made  Superintendent  of  Police,  under  the  regime  of  the 
Board  of  Police,  then  controlling  the  destinies  of  the  guardians  of  public 
life  and  property  in  this  part  of  Illinois,  Honorable  Frank  Sherman, 
Mayor.  About  this  time  the  Captain  became  a  member  of  Hesperia 
Lodge  Free  and  Accepted  Masons.  It  has  not  transpired  that  he  ever 
connected  himself  with  any  particular  congregation,  though  eminently 
charitable — which,  if  not  religious,  is  the  next  thing  to  godliness — and 
given  to  the  reading  of  sermons  and  practicing  the  precepts  of  the 
Mother  Church  of  England,  which  he  naturally  considers  the  acme  of 
all  that  is  good  and  worth  preservation  among  sects,  he  is  possibly  as 
good  a  Christian  as  many  who  are  bound  by  church  tenets  and  regula- 
tions. 

The  Captain  has  been  eminently  happy  in  the  married  relation.  He 
was  united  to  Miss  Sarah  Morrison  Wilson,  May  24th,  1851,  at  Wey- 
mouth,  England.  Mrs.  Turtle's  father  was  one  of  the  oldest  commanders 
in  the  British  Navy,  and  only  closed  a  most  brilliant  career  some  years 
since.  But  one  child  remains  of  this  union,  his  daughter,  Julia,  now  the 
wife  of  N.  B.  Hubbard,  Captain  and  Mrs.  Turtle  having  buried  five, 
all  of  whom  were  born  in  the  United  States. 

It  is  not  expected  in  this  connection  that  we  should  speak  at  any 
great  length  of  Captain  Turtle's  success  in  his  chosen  profession,  since 
the  date  of  his  withdrawal  from  the  regular  force  in  1866,  as  the  news- 
papers have  generally  chronicled  his  principal  movements  as  a  private 
•detective  and  the  principal  of  one  of  the  largest  and  most  powerful  or- 
ganizations of  the  kind  in  the  world.  Suffice  it  that,  previous  to  the 
great  fire,  the  Captain  had  amassed  a  handsome  competence,  nearly  all 
•of  which  was  swept  away  by  the  besom  of  destruction  which  bereft  so 
many  households  and  left  only  desolation  in  its  trail.  He  was  soon  up 
and  doing  again,  and,  while  his  handsome  suit  of  apartments  over  the 
State  Saving  Institution  were  no  more,  all  of  his  books  and  papers  the 
prey  of  the  devouring  flames,  he  started  an  office  at  135  West  Randolph 
street,  where  he  continued  to  transact  police  business  until  the  removal 
to  number  118  East  Lake  street,  and  it  was  not  long  before  business  be- 
gan to  flow  in  again.  He  continued  at  this  locality  until  May,  1881, 
when  he  secured  fine  offices  in  the  United  States  Express  building,  num- 


568  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

bers  87  and  89  East  Washington  Street,  where  he  now  is.  In  an  article  of 
this  character  it  would  be  simply  impossible  to  relate  at  any  considerable 
length  the  history  of  a  tithe  of  the  operations  in  which  Captain  Turtle's 
talents  have  been  in  requisition.  One  of  the  first  of  these,  however,  is 
known  as  the  great  American  Express  robbery,  which  happened  in  the 
Fall  of  1865,  while  Captain  Turtle  was  still  Superintendent  of  Chicago 
Police,  and  in  which  the  corporation  named  lost  forty-one  thousand  dol- 
lars by  a  successful  scheme  set  up  by  bold  and  experienced  depredators. 
In  the  short  space  of  eighteen  hours  following  the  commission  of  the 
crime  the  Captain  and  his  officers  had  recovered  every  dollar  of  the 
money,  and  were  putting  the  irons  upon  the  thieves,  who  were  sub- 
sequently punished.  The  express  company,  in  recompense  for  efficient 
service,  made  Captain  Turtle  a  present  of  five  thousand  dollars,  and  sent 
to  him  an  appropriately  worded  and  handsomely  designed  testimonial  in 
writing,  which  for  some  years  hung  in  the  detective's  private  office,  the 
admiration  of  all  visitors  aTid  the  pride  of  its  possessor.  It  is  not  fulsome 
praise  to  say  that  for  celerity  and  success  this  arrest  has  not  its  parallel 
in  the  history  of  crime  in  America. 

There  are  many  in  the  West  who  can  recall  the  attempted  fraud 
upon  the  ^Etna  Life  Insurance  Company,  of  Rainforth,  Fuller  and  Kim- 
ball,  in  which  Captain  Turtle  'figured  soon  after  establishing  himself  as 
an  independent'detective  at  numbers  80  and  82  LaSalle  Street.  The 
prize  for  which  the  swindlers  fought  in  this  matter  was  included  in  a 
policy  for  thirteen  thousand  dollars,  which  had  been  taken  out  upon 
Rainforth's  life.  Rainforth  was  supposed  to  have  died.  Six  dead 
bodies  were  purchased  in  Michigan.  At  last  one  corpse  was  secured,  its 
hair  and  beard  trimmed,  which  in  general  appearance  resembled  that  of 
the  pretended  lamented;  an  inquest  was  held  in  due  course  by  Coroner 
Wagner;  the  cadaver  was  buried,  and  Rainforth  was  no  more — at  least 
he  had  disappeared.  The  officers  of  the  ^Etna  Company  suspected  all 
was  not  as  it  should  be,  and  engaged  Captain  Turtle  to  explain  the  mys- 
tery, for  mystery  there  surely  was  in  connection  with  the  case.  Learn- 
ing the  true  character  of  the  men,  it  did  not  take  the  detective  long  to. 
arrive  at  the  conclusion  that  a  fraud  of  the  most  palpable  sort  had  been 
perpetrated.  In  less  than  two  weeks  this  deduction  was  verified  by  the 
arrest,  in  New  York,  of  the  identical  Rainforth  supposed  to  have  been 
peacefully  resting  under  the  sod  in  Graceland  cemetery,  and  his  sudden 
production  in  the  very  court — Judge  Bradwell's — in  this  city,  before  which 
his  own  "last  will  and  testament,"  disposing  of  his  ill-gotten  gains  in 
prospective,  was  exhibited  by  his  expectant  heirs  for  probate.  As  no- 
actual  crime,  under  the  statute,  had  been  committed,  higher  than  con- 
spiracy, Fuller,  Rainforth  and  Kimball  were  sentenced  one  year  each 
in  the  county  jail  nominally  for  contempt  of  court.  It  was  a  romantic  and 
interesting  episode  in  detective  experience,  only  the  bare  skeleton  of 
which  can  be  produced  in  these  pages.  Its  successful  result,  however> 
added  to  the  already  extended  renown  of  the  private  detective  agency  of 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  569 

William  Turtle,  and  caused  many  victims  of  similar  frauds  to  commit  their 
operations  to  its  charge. 

In  1869  a  murder  was  committed  at  St.  Charles,  Minnesota,  the  vic- 
tim being  a  German,  named  Ableitner,  a  farmer  of  good  standing  in  the 
community.  The  reception  by  this  man  a  few  days  previously  of  a  pay- 
ment of  four  thousand  dollars  in  gold,  was  the  fact  stimulating  the  assas- 
sins to  the  performance  of  the  cowardly  act.  Such  a  crime  could  not  be 
borne  in  patience  by  the  honest  Minnesotians,  and  they  determined  that 
the  perpetrator,  if  possible,  should  be  brought  to  punishment.  To  this 
end  Captain  Turtle's  agency  was  employed,  Superintendent  William 
Beck,  of  Milwaukee,  having  recommended  such  a  procedure,  and  the 
detectives  were  placed  upon  the  trail  of  the  murderers.  A  man  by  the 
name  of  Staley  had  been  arrested  and  left  in  the  custody  of  one  Whit- 
man some  two  weeks  before  Captain  Turtle  commenced  work.  At  the 
preliminary  examination  Staley  was  discharged.  Soon  thereafter  he, 
with  Whitman,  then  suspected  of  complicity,  made  a  sudden  disappear- 
ance from  their  usual  haunts  in  and  about  St.  Charles,  and  their  where- 
abouts could  not  be  learned.  Turtle's  operatives  noticed  that,  a  little 
later,  Mrs.  Whitman  packed  up  her  things  and  took  her  departure  from 
St.  Charles,  but  she  fled  not  alone.  One  of  those  useful  and  ubiquitous 
gentlemen  called  professionally  "  shadows,"  left  on  the  same  train  and 
kept  her  in  sight.  She  paused  at  Rochester,  New  York,  and  there 
remained  with  relatives,  but  still  no  husband  came  to  the  front.  The 
United  States'  mail,  however,  gave  a  clue.  Mrs.  Whitman  received  let- 
ters from  a  certain  place  in  Michigan.  To  that  point  the  detectives  went 
and  easily  captured  Whitman,  who  was  brought  at  once  to  Chicago. 
After  a  little  judicious  questioning  he  was  induced  to  tell  what  he  knew 
of  the  killing  of  farmer  Ableitner,  which  was  considerable.  It  implicat- 
ed Staley,  as  well  as  a  man  by  the  name  of  Kincaid,  whose  likeness  now 
adorns  the  Captain's  rogue's  gallery,  and  the  original  of  which  is  still 
wanted  in  three,  states  for  as  many  murders,  the  author  of  which  he  is 
known  to  be.  Three  weeks  elapsed  before  a  trace  leading  to  Staley 
could  be  found,  but  it  was  discovered,  and  he  was  followed  to  the  Black 
River  pineries,  Wisconsin,  and  found  in  a  log  shanty,  sleeping  soundly 
and  supposing  himself  safe  from  the  minions  of  the  law,  said  "never  to 
sleep."  His  arrest  was  accomplished  through  the  aid  of  another  gang 
of  woodsmen,  all  of  whom  turned  out  to  assist.  When  the  hut  was  ap- 
proached every  chopper  inside  was  ordered  to  arise  and  show  himself  at 
the  door.  Staley  was  the  last  one  to  come  out,  and  before  he  had  time 
to  draw  a  weapon  the  cold  iron  was  encircling  his  unwilling  wrists. 
When  he  saw  that  persistence  in  falsehood  was  useless,  Staley  confessed 
his  part  in  the  murder,  and  he,  as  well  as  Whitman,  if  yet  alive,  are 
working  for  the  State  of  Minnesota,  at  Stillwater,  under  life  sentences. 
Turtle's  agency  thus  gained  fresh  laurels  in  the  Northwest.  Another  im- 
portant operation,  in  which  the  Captain  was  wrongfully  charged  with 
kidnapping,  was  that  of  John  Blair,  an  English  embezzler  who  was 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

returned  to  the  British  authorities  by  Captain  Turtle  in  person.  Then 
came  the  Anchor  Line  embezzlement,  the  criminal  being  sent  to  Sing 
Sing  for  five  years;  the  Robinson  case,  in  Lake  Zurich,  and  later  the 
Allen  murder,  at  Sandwich,  De  Kalb  county,  for  which  William  Thom- 
as is  now  serving  out  a  seventeen  year  sentence  at  Joliet.  Hundreds  of 
equally  important  operations  must  be  omitted  for  lack  of  space. 


JOHN    W.    STEWART. 


John  W.  Stewart  was  born  at  Vincennes,  Indiana,  in  the  year  1822, 
and  is  of  Scotch  descent  although  three  generations  of  the  family  were 
born  in  this  country.  His  father,  Reverend  John  Stewart,was  born  in  1795, 
and  was  from  early  life  an  itinerant  Methodist  minister,  being  for  fifty 
consecutive  years  stationed  in  the  Ohio  conference  at  different  points. 
In  consequence  of  the  itineracy  of  his  father,  the  early  childhood  of  the  son 
was  spent  in  various  places,  but  being  naturally  quick  of  perception  and 
anxious  to  fit  himself  for  the  active  duties  of  life,  at  the  early  age  of 
twelve  years,  he  earnestly  solicited  the  privilege  of  learning  the  art 
of  printing,  and  upon  securing  his  father's  consent,  he  entered  the  office 
of  the  TIMES  at  Troy,  Ohio,  where  he  remained  two  years,  gaining 
much  practical  knowledge  and  laying  the  foundation  for  his  subsequent 
useful  and  active  life.  He  next  entered  the  preparatory  department  of  the 
Ohio  University  at  Athens,  Ohio,  and  subsequently  entered  Augusta 
College,  Kentucky,  where  he  was  a  student  for  three  years.  In  the 
Winter  of  1840-41,  he  obtained  permission  of  his  parents  to  come  into 
the  great  and  undeveloped  Northwest.  Arriving  at  Prairie  du  Chien 
bv  steamer,  via  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  rivers,  about  the  first  of  March 
1841,  he  immediately  found  new  friends  at  Lancaster  in  Grant  county, 
Wisconsin,  and  entered  the  office  of  Messrs.  Barber  &  Dewey  for  the 
purpose  of  studying  law,  and  he  was  appointed  Deputy  Clerk  of  the  United 
States  District  Court  by  Chief  Justice  Dunn,  then  holding  court  at  Lan- 
caster. Soon  after  this  he  was  appointed  Postmaster  of  that  place,  which 
office  he  held  one  year,  when  he  located  at  Monroe,  Green  county,  Wis- 
consin. Here  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  practicing  his  profession  in  a 
small  way  for  many  years.  He  also  commenced  in  this  place,  in  May 
1851,  the  publication  of  a  weekly  newspaper,  THE  MONROE  SENTINEL, 
which  he  disposed  of,  however,  before  the  close  of  the  first  volume.  This 
paper  has  continued  to  be  published  up  to  the  present  time,  and  is  one 
of  the  leading  Republican  journals  in  Wisconsin. 

Finally  outside  speculations  in  lands  and  building  engrossing  his  atten- 
tion, together  with  a  distaste  for  close  office  labor,  induced  him  to  give 
up  his  practice  pretty  much  altogether.  During  the  few  following  years, 
however,  he  was  engaged  occasionally  in  political  ventures,  having  fre- 
quently enjoyed  the  confidence  of  his  fellow  citizens,  whenever  he  was 
disposed  to  accept  the  same.  In  1846,  at  the  age  of  twenty-four,  he 


572  CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS. 

was  elected  in  the  large  old  district  composed  of  Dane,  Green  and  Sauk 
counties,  to  the  Territorial  legislature,  and  was  elected  again  to  the  suc- 
ceeding and  last  Territorial  legislature  as  a  Whig,  in  a  district  that  was 
largely  Democratic.  In  1860,  he  was  elected  to  the  Senate  of  the  State, 
and  was  an  influential  and  active  participator  in  the  passage  of  the  initial 
war  legislation.  About  this  time,  too,  he  was  elected  on  joint  ballot  of 
the  legislature,  a  Regent  of  the  State  University  for  six  years. 

Mr.  Stewart  has  always  manifested  the  utmost  willingness  and  even 
eagerness  to  serve  the  interests  of  the  community  of  which  he  was  a  part, 
and  while  his  business  ability  has  enabled  him  to  make  many  of  his 
ventures  profitable  to  himself,  this  has  not  always  been  the  principal 
object  of  his  undertakings.  Up  to  1860,  he  was  quarter  owner  of  the  old 
State  Bank  of  Monroe,  and  when  the  national  banking  law  took  effect, 
he  became  an  original  stockholder  in  the  Second  National  Bank  of  Free- 
port,  Illinois. 

Immediately  after  the  commencement  of  the  war,  he,  together  with 
two  other  gentlemen,  .was  commissioned  by  President  Lincoln,  Commis- 
sioner of  Allotment  for  the  State  of  Wisconsin,  and  in  the  performance 
of  his  official  duties  he  visited  the  greater  part  of  the  Wisconsin  regi- 
ments in  the  United  States  army  in  the  East,  West  and  South,  which 
continued  for  something  more  than  a  year.  Mr.  Stewart  lived  in  Wis- 
consin for  some  twenty-nine  years,  and  is  in  the  enjoyment  of  many 
testimonials  that  he  retains  the  confidence  of  all  with  whom  he  associated 
financially  and  politically  during  that  time. 

In  the  Winter  of  1869-70,  he  removed  to  Chicago,  where  he  had 
become  somewhat  interested  sometime  before,  and  has  become  a  prom- 
inent and  substantial  citizen  here.  In  the  Spring  of  1876,  without  his- 
solicitation,  and  contrary  to  his  inclination,  he  was  takiin  up  by  some 
enthusiastic  friends  and  neighbors  for  Alderman  in  the  Fourth  Ward, 
and  elected,  serving  with  acknowledged  ability  and  success  as  an  active 
member  of  the  Reform  City  Council  during  the  term  of  Mayor  Heath. 
Among  the  measures  originated  by  him  were  the  abolition  and  reorgan- 
ization of  the  Board  of  Public  Works  and  the  Health  Department  of 
the  city,  and  the  initial  measures  for  building  the  City  Hall.  In  the 
Fall  of  1878,  he  was  elected  to  the  office  of  County  Commissioner  of 
Cook  countv,  from  the  city  district,  by  an  official  majority  of  7,796,  which 
office  he  still  holds.  He  was  Chairman  of  the  County  Board  in  1879-80. 

Mr.  Stewart  was  a  Whig  of  the  Henry  Clay  school  before  the  organi- 
zation of  the  Republican  party,  of  which  he  has  been  a  member  ever 
since,  having  several  times  been  one  of  the  State  Central  Committee  of 
each  of  these  parties  in  Wisconsin. 

Mr.  Stewart  is  modest,  unassuming,  conservative,  conscientious  and 
clear  in  pursuing  the  line  of  any  duty  devolving  upon  him,  always  willing 
to  concede  the  credit  to  others  for  the  measures  or  objects  he  aids  to 
accomplish.  In  his  home  he  is  the  same  genial  gentleman  that  he  is  to- 
the  world;  and  his  family  circle,  consisting  of  a  wife — whose  maiden 


CHICAGO  AND  ITS  DISTINGUISHED  CITIZENS.  573 


name  was  Armida  A.  Bowen,  and  whom  he  married  in  1845  —  one  son 
two  daughters,  presents  conclusive  evidence  of  the  solid  comfort  and  hap- 
piness to  be  enjoyed  in  the  possession  of  a  well-appointed  and  virtuous 
home. 


CONTENTS. 


Page 
CHAPTER    I. 

Introduction 5 — 8 

CHAPTER  II., 

Old  Chicago 9 — 13 

CHAPTER  III. 

Chicago  from  1804  to  1825 14 — 17 

CHAPTER  IV. 

The  Town  of  Chicago 18 — 25 

CHAPTER  V. 

The  City  of  Chicago 26 — 33 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Growth  in  Population  and  Commerce 51 — 58 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Railroads So — 84 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Churches 89 — 93 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Public  Schools 101 — 121 

CHAPTER  X. 

Public  Parks 135 — 144 

CHAPTER  XI. 

Manufactures 145 — 159 

CHAPTER  XII. 

The  Great  Fire 187—191 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

Prominent  Buildings  Destroyed  and  Individual  Losses 192 — 194 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

After  the  Fire 195 — 199 

CHAPTEH  XV. 

Chicago  and  the  Rebellion  of  1861 205 — 210 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

Medical  Colleges  and  Profession 213 — 222 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

The  Bench  and  Legal  Profession 243 — 249 


CONTENTS. 

Page. 
CHAPTER    XVIII. 

The  Fire  of  1874 279—284 

CHAPTER   XIX. 

Chicago  Journalism 285 — 294 

CHAPTER  XX. 

Relief  and  Aid  Society 321—326 

CHAPTER   XXL 

Places  of  Amusement 327 — 329 

CHAPTER   XXII- 

Notable  Events  of  a  National  Character 337 — 343 

CHAPTER   XXIII. 

The  Leading  Secret  Societies 344 — 355 

CHAPTER   XXIV. 

The  Union  Stock  Yards 356 — 366 

CHAPTER   XXV. 

First  Chicago  Directory 374 — 380 

CHAPTER   XXVI. 

Grain  Elevators 381 — 386 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 

Early  Settlers 387 — 397 

CHAPTER   XXVIII. 

A  Prophecy 398 — 403 

CHAPTER   XXIX. 

Public  Charities 404 — 412 

CHAPTER  XXX. 

Poems  Dedicated  to  Chicago 413 — 418 

CHAPTER   XXXI. 

Sporting  Reminiscences 419 — 423 

CHAPTER   XXXII. 

The  Steam  Towing  Business 424 — 439 

CHAPTER   XXXIII. 

The  Lady  Elgin  Disaster 440 — 445 

CHAPTER   XXXIV. 

Gymnastics  in  Chicago 446 — 451 

CHAPTER   XXXV. 

Chicago  Historical  Society 452 — 454 

CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

The  Dry  Goods  Trade 455 — 460 

CHAPTER   XXXVII. 

Terrible  Balloon  Catastrophe 468 — 475 

CHAPTER   XXXVIII. 

The  Jews  of  Chicago 476 — 481 

CHAPTER   XXXIX. 

Centennial  Tribute  to  Chicago 482 — 488 


CONTENTS. 

Page. 
CHAPTER  XL. 

Chicago  Type  Foundry. — How  Type  is  Made 489 — 494 

CHAPTER   XLI. 

The  Dead 498 — 5 1 1 

CHAPTER  XLII. 

Chicago  Memorial  Building 512 — 536 

CHAPTER   XLIII. 

Brief  Biographical  Sketches 549 — 554 


.IN  MEMORIAM. 
JAMES   WARD. 

Born  August  ist,  1814. 
Died  July  6th,  1881. 

Mr.  Ward  is  the  only  one  whose  biography  appears  in  this  volume, 
who  has  died  since  the  sketch  was  written.  His  memory  will  long  be 
cherished  in  a  community  in  which  he  spent  such  a  useful  life,  and  his 
place  among  us  will  not  readily  be  filled. 


INDEX  TO  BIOGRAPHIES. 


Aldrich  William 211—212 

Anderson  Benjamin  L 64 — 66 

Benningall  Patrick 246 

Biackwell  Robert  S 246 

Blodgett  Henry  W 245 

Brainard  Dr.  Daniel 216 

Bross  William 300—306 

Brown  Ira 77 — 79 

Bundy John  C 310 — 313 

Butterfield  Justin 246 

Carpenter  Philo 40 — 43 

Caton  John  D 246 

Clapp  William  B ; 334~ 336 

Collins  James  H 246 

Collyer  Robert 554 

Cobb  Silas  B 555 

Chesbrough  Ellis  Sylvester 556 

Davis  N.  S.,  M.  D 241—242 

Drummond  Thomas 273 — 274 

Eddy  H.  Clarence 128 — 131 

Edsall  James  Kirkland 250 — 253. 

Farwell  John  B , 465 — 467 

Follansbee  Charles 461 — 462 

Goodrich  Judge 245 

Goodall  H.  L 314—318 

Goodrich  Henry  J 74 — 76 

Grant  William  C 264—266 

Griggs  Samuel  C 553 

Hulbert  Alvin. 549 — 551 

Harmon  Dr.  Elijah  D 214 

Haverly  John  H 332—333 

Hale  Daniel  H 85—88 

Howland  George 122 — 124 

Hubbard  Gurdon  S 36 — 39 

Hill  Robert 169 — 170 


INDEX  TO  BIOGRAPHIES. 

Honsinger  Emanuel,  D.  D.  S 235 — 238 

Hesing  Washington 3°7— 3°9 

Hooley  Richard  M 330 — 331 

Hoyne  Thomas 246 

Jones  Joseph  Russell 556 

Kedzie  John  Hume 67 — 70 

Kimbell  Martin  Nelson 177 — 179 

Keenan  Wilson  Thompson ' 370 — 371 

Kern  Charles ^37 — 539 

Kedzie  John  Hume 67 — 70 

Kimbell  Martin  Nelson 177 — 179 

Keenan  Wilson  Thompson 370 — 37  [ 

Kern  Charles 537—539 

Lehmann  E.  J 185 — 186 

Ludlatn  Reuben  M.  D 223 — 227 

Low  Dr.  James  E 23 1 — 234 

Marder  John ^95 — 497 

Maxwell  Phillips  Dr 215 

McCormick  Cyrus  Hall 160 — 165 

Mills  Luther  Laflin x.  254 — 256 

Myrick  Willard  Franklin 48 — 50 

Moore  Samuel  M 270 — 272 

Morris  Buckner  S.  .  .  . . 246 

McEllroy  Daniel 246 

Mann  Orrin  L 543 — 548 

McClurg  Alexander 553 

Ogden  Wm.  B 34 — 35 

Olin  Henry  M.  D 228 — 230 

Palmer  Potter 463 — 464 

Pa  ren  Nicolai  Harding  M.  D j 239 — 240 

Pearson  James  Henry 59 — 65 

Prosser  Treat  T 180— 181 

Purington  D.  V 540 — 543 

Pullman  George  M .  .  .  . 55^ 

Russe.l  John  Kniften 562—565 

Skinner  Mark 557 — ^^ 

Shipman  Dr.  George 5152 

Scammon  John  Young 245 

Spring  Giles 245 

Scoville     Hiram  H 182 — 183 

Scoville     Hiram  H.  Jr ^4 

Slayton  Henry  L ' 132 — 134 

Singer  Horace  M 166 — 168 

Stewart  Hart  L 71 — 73 

Stewart  John  W 571 — 573 


INDEX  TO  BIOGRAPHIES. 

Swing  David 97 — 100 

Sheridan  Phillip  Henry 200 — 204 

Storey  Wilbur  F - : 297 — 299 

Shuman   Andrew 319 — 320 

Talcott  Mancel 173 — 176 

Thomas  H.  W 94—96 

Trumbull  Lyman 275 — 276 

Turtle  William 566—570 

Van  Osdel  John  M 44 — 47 

Waixel  Isaac 367 — 369 

Ward  James 125 — 127 

Ward  James,  Memorial  page 575 

Waterman  Arba  N 257 — 259 

Willett  Consider  H 260—263 

Wilson  Robert  S 267 — 269 

Wood  John  H 372—373 

Walcott  Dr.  Alexander 214 

Wilson  John  M 247 

Wilkie  Franc  B 553 

Wadsworth  Elisha  S 560—561 


